


A Catalyst of Providence

by rikiyuu



Series: Providence [1]
Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Slow Burn, Worldbuilding, and lots of just drabbling and doing god knows what, but hopefully you enjoy the ride and wherever this goes lol, but sometimes we gotta feed ourselves, lots of headcanons ahead!, this is pretty self indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:53:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 50,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21578659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rikiyuu/pseuds/rikiyuu
Summary: After 5 years the Watcher is called on again by the gods to risk neck and limb for them- and all of Eora. A Herald of Berath, the Hound of Eothas...a long journey is ahead of her- but once again she has life long friends, and new faces to help be with her until the bitter end.
Relationships: Aloth Corfiser/The Watcher, Maia Rua/Xoti
Series: Providence [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1555126
Comments: 10
Kudos: 26





	1. Ephermal

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely inspired by a 31 day prompt challenge I found, and all the other wonderful fics I found on this site. Lots of headcanons about the Defiant, relationships between the crewmates and the Watcher. Obvious spoilers for the whole game (and its DLCs) as we go along..I hope you all enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loosely inspired by a 31 day writing challenge that I found one day, along with all the fics I read on this site! Expect lots of headcanons and other stuff that I figured would happen during my adventures in the Deadfire. I hope you enjoy the ride!

Aloth followed behind the Watcher as she showed him to his room, listening to her excitedly talk about the ship and it’s crew with passion; like a mother talking about their child, Charlotte had nothing but praise for her resilient crew. The ship was still docked by the beach that they had crashed upon, but with help from Governor Clario and Ikahwa, the ship looked about as good as it would for the moment. It was enough to get them to Neketaka, which the governor _strongly_ suggested that the crew set sail to. They didn’t have anywhere else to go, so Charlotte decided to prepare the crew to set sail to the city- now that they were stocked with food and a few new friends for the journey, Charlotte felt quite comfortable with the state of things.

The duo came in front of one of the empty cabins, and after making sure there certainly wasn’t anyone making their residency in the room, they stepped inside. Charlotte motioned with her left hand for Aloth to come in and survey the room, and to make sure it was up to his standards- not that he necessarily had much choice, granted. The Watcher crossed her arms and leaned against the wooden door as she watched her friend scrutinize every inch of the room- even going so far as to take a gander at the view his window provided.

“I regret to inform you that the ocean is the same no matter which angle you’re looking at it, my friend.” She said, quirking an eyebrow when she noticed he was staring outside for a bit longer than expected. It seemed to work him out of his thoughtful haze, and he turned back to face her.

“Ah, well, I suppose I got a little caught up in the inspection.” He ran his hand against the frame of the bed, following the length of it. Surprisingly cool to the touch- considering the relatively warm climate of the island Port Maje resided on. The craftsmanship on it was nothing to scoff at either- it was surprisingly sturdy against his skin, sharpened and buffed to a smooth finish. “I take it the Steward was kind enough to spare no expense on this ship?”

“Well, considering the circumstances, it was about the nicest we could afford.” She stood up against the door and walked into the room, taking a seat across Aloth in one of the chairs that was at a small table in the corner of the room. “… _You know_ , with the…giant titan-god-thing erupting from my keep. That kind of…”

“Put a damper on things, yes?”

“Haha, I knew you’d understand.” Charlotte leaned into the chair and relaxed, stretching her legs out and crossing her hands on her lap. Aloth sat at the edge of the bed, finding himself mimicking her pose as well. They sat like that in the quiet for some time- it was as if things hadn’t changed between them in the 5 years they were separated. The nights in Caed Nua’s library reading and discussing all things regarding magic and the arts, or Charlotte keeping Aloth company since he _really_ doesn’t like parties- it was their little sanctuary and their quiet nights alone. While most people would go mad in such long stretches of silence, the duo found their friendship strengthened from it. The sound of the sea gently ebbing and flowing outside, rocking the ship softly; the creaking of the ship resonated in their ears as a soft melody that filled the otherwise quiet air in the room.

Aloth’s eyes drifted to her, taking in the fact that the Watcher was in fact as the same room as him. He wasn’t quite used to being in friendly company, and after five years of being alone, wandering all parts of Eora for the Leaden Key, he was…certainly not used to being near people he knew. It was her, from what his eyes could perceive. Still a pale elf from the White that Wends, still one of his most trusted companions, and _still being pushed and dragged by the gods to do their bidding!_ Life with Charlotte in it truly was never dull. 

The only major differences Aloth noticed was how long her hair had gotten. He knows the Watcher preferred to keep it short since she absolutely _despised_ how long it took for her to comb through it when it was long, and to see it come down to her chest was definitely not like her. She had a few new scars on her face and hands that he didn’t remember her having, but it was no surprise if she was front lining the soldiers and protecting her keep from anyone who might attempt to rob from it.

“So, what have you been up to these past few years?” Charlotte asked, breaking the silence between them, raising her gaze from the floor to meet his eyes. Once again he found his thoughtful haze broken by her soft voice, and he shook his head slightly to readjust and return to the moment. Aloth opened his mouth to speak, considering his words before they came out of his mouth (as he always tended to do).

“Well…after our encounter with Thaos I set out to dismantle the Leaden Key, as I’m sure you know,” he said as the first piece of information to flow from his mouth. He met Charlotte’s gaze directly, tensing under her intense gaze. Despite her sharp features, her eyes were as soft and rounded as he remembered, but by the _gods_ did he hate how intense her eye contact was. Her cyan eyes seemed to bore into his own, and she followed his gaze as he spoke (whether intentional or not, he never was able to find out)- one could never tell if she was politely listening and being attentive or… _watching_ him. She was no cipher, no, but with her studious and diligent attentiveness, she surely gave a strong impression of one.

If there was one thing he wasn’t fond of, it was only ever this.

“Of course, I remember our rather…lengthy discussion on the manner.” Charlotte sat up in the chair, crossing her legs as she readjusted. For a moment her eyes swept the floor of the room (giving Aloth much reprieve from her gaze), before returning to him (some things just don’t last forever).

“If I recall correctly you were extremely worried.” The elf gave a small, awkward smile- it wasn’t the prettiest evening for either of them, and quite possibly the only time they ever argued.

“Well…it’s hard not to. It’s in my nature, as I’m sure you know. You’ll be happy to know Eothas didn’t steal that away from me.”

“I’m glad, I would be worried if I somehow found myself with a completely different person.” In his mind he would like to think the gods were not as cruel, but one could never really know with the current state of those…relatively otherworldly beings. Even if they did come from kith, they were still as mysterious and detached from everyone, save for Charlotte. Watchers were rare, but even rarer, catastrophically so, were ones who were given tasks directly by the gods themselves. And from the visions that she told them about back in the Gilded Vale, he was certain they were nothing more than a bunch of rowdy children.

“Berath was kind enough to return my soul to my body- I would be…kind of mad if I couldn’t at least keep some semblance of, well, me.” She replied (and as if on cue), raised her head to the ceiling, as if the Pallid Knight herself was there above them. “I mean no disrespect, Berath. I swear. Please don’t sink my ship, thank you. That would, uh, really suck.”

Aloth couldn’t stifle the laugh that came out as a response of her sudden declaration to the gods. Soon Charlotte followed suite and joined him in laughter, both laughing and laughing for no discernible reason other than just enjoying their own company.

“Oh gods what am I doing- please, please, continue!“ Charlotte said, wiping a tear from her eye. Her companion waved a hand of dismissal, catching his breath and trying to readjust his posture.

“Oh no- I’m…I had nothing important to- to speak of.” He somehow replied through short breath and heaves. He wasn’t particularly fond of the failings and long, lonely days travelling from place to place, never staying in one place for too long out of fear of people finding out what he was doing. The memories still felt fresh in his mind- he might have spent a few months with the animancers at the dig site, but that time felt like a small instant compared to the rest of his adventures. Charlotte tilted her head, a pleading smile forming on her face.

“Oh, come on. It’s been a few years, surely you’ve been up to a lot- please, humor me.” She pleaded, sitting on the edge of her seat and gripping the edges. She leaned into Aloth’s direction, desperate for him to meet her halfway in this conversation. He flinched instinctively at the closeness, face flushing red. He could feel the red warming to the tip of his ears, and unease settled in.

“I’m sorry, Charlotte. I’m just…used to hiding who I am, my identity, and all that, you know? I don’t think I’m still ready to open up so quickly.” He turned to face her, trying to meet her powerful gaze. “Even with you.”

He saw the immediate change in her gaze, even if Charlotte had not meant to react so quickly. The eyes dropping to the ground. The gaze immediately back to him. The slight dropping of her smile. She was slighted and was trying damn hard to act like she wasn’t. He regretted his saying, but there was truth in his words, and the Watcher knew it, too.

Aloth was, and always has been a private, reserved being.

Charlotte stood up slowly and stretched, doing what she could to act like nothing just happened. She turned back to him, giving a small smile.

“I understand, Aloth. You don’t need to justify anything to me. I, um…it has been five years since we’ve last seen each other.” She rubbed the back of her head as she spoke. “I should have known better-“

There was an unannounced entrance into the room, panting and a little worse for wear- Edér.

“Oh there you guys are! We, uh, got a situation upstairs.” He said, eyes straight on Charlotte. The Watcher regained her usual focused composure and her “problem solving” face was back in full force.

“What do you mean?” The confidence that wavered just a few minutes ago was completely gone, her eyes sharp and piercing again. She moved closer to Eder, as if expecting the answer to this sudden problem to magically appear from his mouth.

“Er, according to the crew there’s a ship getting’ ready to hit us real fast- or, maybe parley? I dunno, they're really coming on us hot. We might need you up there soon.”  
With a simple nod, Charlotte began to make her way to the deck, wasting no time in booking it to the deck.

She motioned for the boys to follow suit. She gave one final nod to Aloth, as if to say _“We’ll talk about this when you’re ready.”_ The three of them ran to the deck, getting ready to challenge the new dangers that await them in the Deadfire; they’ll face it all as they did 5 years ago.

Together _ _.__


	2. Nexus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After leaving for Neketaka, it seems like Charlotte finds herself building her listing of companions, meeting a few new ones...and an old friend, too.

“Well, that went better than expected.” Charlotte watched _The Gentleman of Leisure_ sail off to the west- to what she could only assume was that Dunnage place that the captain of the ship, Furrante, was speaking of. She was very grateful that the captain was a very reasonable man and spoke to her instead of gunning her down where she stood. The Watcher also ended up with a new companion in her journey as well- an orlan named Serafen. He walked on board _The Defiant_ and took in the sights of the ship, stroking his messy, braided blue beard as he looked around.

“What a tiny fuckin’ ship you got here, captain.” He said bluntly, turning back from his impromptu inspection to face the Watcher and her companions. Aloth was already displeased with their new companion and he was there for all of 30 seconds. He opened his mouth to say something, but thankfully Charlotte responded first- probably for the best.

“Apologies, Serafen. It was the best we could do considering our recent events.” She gave a warm smile, unsure of exactly what this orlan’s intentions were. She’s usually very good at diffusing situations and talking her way out of just about any situation, and the last thing she wanted was a problem child in the crew. Especially one that can get into people’s minds like a cipher- keeping her head cool and collected was the best thing she could do at this moment. “I intend to get us a bigger ship once the opportunity arises- along with a lot of other necessary goods we’ll need to keep the ship running.”

“You ever run a ship before?” Serafen asked, looking straight into Charlotte’s eyes.

“Um…not really. I’ve run a keep before. That’s basically like running a ship, if it was landlocked.” She said it confidently, but deep down even she knew she was talking out of her ass. Serafen laughed, half out of pity and half out of concern for the completely inexperienced captain in front of him.

“Thank the fuckin’ gods that I’m here then. I’ve been on my fair share of ships and would be more than happy to teach you all that I know.” Edér, Xoti, and Aloth didn’t have to look at the Watcher to know how excited she was by the prospect of learning something new- her body reacted for her. She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, and she cupped her hands together in joy (like she always does) and responded warmly.

“I accept your offer, Serafen. We could get started now if you’d like. It would be a great opportunity to introduce you to the rest of the crew as well.” She gestured to the stairs that led to the helmsman, guiding Serafen in that direction. With a simple nod in agreement, the orlan followed the Watcher’s trail and began their introduction spree. The Watcher’s trio remained in their spot, watching the duo from afar. Edér idly began to fill his pipe with whiteleaf, eyes still stuck to Serafen and Charlotte.

“I eagerly await to have a third voice in my head now…” Aloth broke the silence first, unease in his voice.

“I figured Iselmyr would be happy to have more company after all these years away from us.” Edér finally got a flame running in his pipe.

“Who’s Iselmyr?” Xoti perked up, silently watching the events unfold since they arrived on the ship. She was feeling a bit overwhelmed, excited, tired, and confused by all the events that had happened in the past two or three days. Edér and Aloth stared at her for a few seconds before realizing that she was _completely_ new to all of them. Aloth’s eyes grew wide before shifting his gaze to the floor, then back to Xoti- he was unsure how to talk to her about this. It’s been some time since he’s had to talk about her to someone new, and he wasn’t completely keen on talking about her, otherwise she might have the audacity to pop out.

“I suppose now would be a good time as ever to have that talk…” Aloth turned to Xoti, unsure as to where to begin on that conversation.

“Hey, can I be there? I wanna say hi to Iselmyr, it’s been a while since we chatted!” Edér gave a strong pat on the elf’s back, nearly knocking him to the ground. Xoti gave a small giggle, watching Aloth stumble and readjust himself.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Edér…”  
  


* * *

  
The arrival at Neketaka could not have gone any worse. Usually Charlotte prefers to handle things with a lot of dignity and grace, using her words and diplomatic skills to diffuse every and all situations- force was only an extreme, and would only ever be used if the other parties really couldn’t be talked down.

This was certainly one of those extreme moments.

The harbormaster was really, really determined to hustle the Watcher and company for all they were worth upon just arriving to the docks. Did she really have to pay a fee? Where they even really guards, or just some thugs looking to make a quick pocket of coin? Did Berath _seriously_ have to commandeer her body and summon a dozen of souls to terrify and scare the hell out of them? The incessant ringing of bells echoed in her ears like a fly circling her ears, ringing and _ringing_ and **_ringing_**. Charlotte had accepted her horrible fate as a Watcher all those years ago, but she preferred being in control of it all, preferred not having a god just coming into her body and having her lose control of her powers. She _really_ didn’t like having to use her powers like that. Why couldn’t Berath just let her talk this one out…

She pressed her head against the wood of the docks, tightly gripping the cold, wet boards until her skin turned whiter than usual, blood flowing tight and hot in her veins. Deep, rough and shallow breaths echoed in her body, sputtered out by harsh coughs that dried her throat. She collapsed during Berath’s control, and once the god promptly left, she had to deal with a pounding headache that she was certain would kill her. It felt like a cannonball had hit her square in the forehead, tension building in her head that she really, really wasn’t in the mood to deal with. Charlotte was desperately trying to fight back tears, not wanting to add dehydration to the list of problems she was dealing with.

Her friends surrounded her- Xoti squat down next to her giving her gentle back rubs; Edér rummaging through his pack for a handkerchief; Aloth standing rigidly still, unsure what to do with himself out of fear of overwhelming her; Serafen stroking his beard, wondering what to say after experiencing…all of that.

“There, there, Watcher. Get it all out.” Xoti said in a soft, motherly tone. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bundle of bright red berries. She tore one from the stem and offered it to the Watcher. “I got a bunch of murkberries here- they’re really good for ya. I can feed ya one if you’d like.” Edér found his handkerchief and offered it to her as well.

Charlotte sat up at a snail’s pace, making sure not to rattle her body too much. She gave a shaky smile to her companions before taking their gifts, a raspy ‘thank you’ was all she could get out now, but the nods from Xoti and Edér was enough to let her know they understood. The murkberries were bitter and earthy, packed with a lot of juicy flavor in them. She was thankful for the snack, and she could feel her energy slowly returning to her with each berry, as well as her usual composure.

“Are you gonna be alright, cap? What the Hel was that all about?” Serafen said, eyeing Charlotte as Edér and Xoti helped her up. Aloth reached out and gave the Watcher’s shoulder a gentle squeeze of concern and support.

“I-I’m fine, thank you, S-Serafen.” She responded with a tired breath. “I supposed Berath really didn’t like me asking her not to sink our ship on the way here…” She chuckled, trying to get her mood going. She planted her hands on her hips, taking lots of deep breaths to try and get the lungs and blood flowing through her.

“I’m sure there’s time for a quick break, if you so desire.” Aloth said, slowly dropping his hand and returning it to his side. “We’ve made good time, so I’m sure there’s time to return to the ship if necessary.”

Charlotte waved her hand in gentle dismissal, not wanting to waste time. “I’ll be fine, truly, but thank you for the concern.” She made a slow pace into the city, her companions exchanging worrying glances before following close behind the Watcher.  
  


* * *

  
Queen’s Berth sat at the near pinnacle point of the mountain, providing a wonderous view of the Deadfire. Miles and miles of water stretched on all sides of them. A clear, blue sky welcomed them to the district, along with a soft breeze that played along their skin. Xoti insisted that the team take a few minutes to stretch their legs and relax, after all they spent a good three hours climbing a mountain to meet the queen- the least they could do was take a few minutes to adjust themselves.

They found a few benches to rest upon, and a small river ran behind them; Charlotte took the opportunity to peer at her reflection. Despite the catastrophic event that happened at the docks, she didn’t look too disheveled, save for a few flyaway strands of hair. She ran her hand across her clothing, smoothing out every little wrinkle and fold she found to the best of her ability; running her hand through her hair, she dismantled her braid, redoing it entirely (and cursing the entire time).

“Please remind me to cut my hair sometime down the line, I really hate this.” She muttered to no one in particular.

“Will do, Watcher” Edér said, taking a pause from his smoking to smile at the Watcher.

“I’m surprised you let her hair get so long, Edér.” Aloth was sitting on the bench with Xoti, flipping through his grimoire and reviewing his spells. He didn’t have to look up to know Edér was giving him a pout.

“You’d be surprised how busy life is when you’re taking care of a big ol’ keep. I’m surprised she had time to sleep.” Aloth looked over at the Watcher and gave a small frown- he was always concerned about her lack of sleep when they first traveled together and always insisted she got her proper 8 hours of sleep. There would be words with her later to make sure she keeps that habit up! Charlotte looked away, a small blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

“I think it looks good on you, Watcher. It makes you look all mature and sophisticated!” Xoti clasped her hands together as she spoke, giving the Watcher a warm gaze. Charlotte couldn’t help but half-scoff and half-chuckle at the remark.

“I’m flattered, Xoti, but it’s just so much _work_ to take care of it…” She ran her hands through the braid, feeling the soft strands brush against her skin as she worked her way through the mass. “I prefer it short, it’s pretty easy to keep, and doesn’t feel like extra weight pulling at my skull.”

“Jus’ be like me, cap. Have hair _everywhere_.” Serafen said, throwing himself into the conversation with a hearty chuckle and a wink. Charlotte couldn’t help but chuckle in turn, as well.

“If I wanted to be _that_ hairy, I would shift into my bear form.” To this Serafen simply rolled his eyes, desperately trying to smother the grin on his face- he’d been got good. He kind of walked into that one.

They chatted about for a few more minutes before making their way to Kahanga Palace, steeling themselves to meet Queen Onekaza. They had a small issue with the guards but being the ones who saw the chaos that happened at Port Maje, they were able to get through to the throne room. A throng of people were already in the court, and a Huana sat at the other edge of the room on an ornate and colorful throne. For a moment the group sat near the back of the mass, desperately trying to hear the other voices that seemed to be arguing with the queen at the back. Charlotte really didn’t want to push through the crowd, but she got the feeling she would have to _politely_ do so- she would wait out for the opportunity and—

Then there was an incessant knocking in her head, feeling the strain of an uninvited guest at her doorstep. She touched head head and grimaced, looking immediately at Serafen.

“Serafen, are you—" She started, before he interrupted her.

“Not at all, cap. You told me you didn’t want me in there again…” He squinted his eyes and squatted to the floor, thankful that his short height gave him quite the advantage. He stared squarely at the queen, sharp teeth coming out in his grimace. “Fuck me sideways, cap. I be thinkin' that queen might be the one invitin’ herself over.”

Charlotte sighed. She really, really hated this.

_An interesting visitor in difficult times. You cannot be here to deliver a favorable omen?_ The queen’s voice rung in her head. Charlotte steeled herself for what would come next, keeping her head devoid of as much thought as possible.

“This one is a Watcher blessed by Tangaloa. I suspect that many of our questions about Hasongo will soon be answered.” She raised her scepter and pointed at the Watcher. The crowds around Charlotte and her crew parted, and they stepped forward towards the queen. She did her best to put her game face on, clearing her throat and putting on the warmest smile she could put on.

“We assembled to discuss the darkening of Hasongo—one of Rauatai’s colonies. Watcher, it seems you have the floor.” Queen Onekaza II. Her voice was strong and confident- just the kind of person Charlotte liked talking to, albeit the whole…cipher intrusion.

Charlotte took a deep breath, choosing her next words carefully.  
  


* * *

  
Pallegina was very bad at smothering a smile around the Watcher. So rare was it for the paladin to smile, or to show any measure of physical and verbal affection that Charlotte seized the opportunity at every moment. Their embrace was a long time coming. Pallegina’s hands rested on the back of Charlotte’s neck, laughing at her reaction to their reunion.

“Aimica, per complanca…You act as if I’ve been dead these past few years.” She said to the young pale elf that’s thrown herself at the godlike for a tightly wound hug. Her bright, blue-and-green feathers ruffled slightly in the wind.

The group found themselves by the benches that the Watcher had brought the group to earlier, surprised that no one had taken the spot, they camped there once more. They hoped to go back to the ship to reconvene and plan out their next move (especially now that two new members have joined their little cohort), but it seemed as though the captain was very preoccupied now. Charlotte lifted her head to look at Pallegina, pouting all the while.

“Well you never had the time to _visit!_ All our talking was done via letters! It’s been so long since we’ve hugged like this.” Charlotte said, her voice full of more energy than she usually allows- she only ever raises her voice if she’s in battle or if she’s _really_ angry. Her passion was there, but much like half of the members in their past journeys, she preferred to keep it on the down low. Pallegina’s golden eyes broke contact with the Watcher to look at the rest of the group, particularly landing on Edér and Aloth.

“Please tell me she reacted the same when she met you both.”

Edér laughed. “She’s seen me so much these past five years- I wish she hugged me like that.”

“Well, we did hug back at the dig site, however, I don’t think it what this…impassioned.” Aloth said, a hint of jealousy in his eyes.

“Belfetto. Favoritism.” Pallegina gently pried the Watcher off her, giving her a reassuring pat on the back before returning to the side of the others. Their attention, however, was quickly diverted to their new aumaua companion- one Maia Rua, and her animal companion, Ishiza. She cleared her throat and made her way to Charlotte, nearly dwarfing the Watcher due to her sheer size and build. For a marksman, she had quite the muscle mass on her. Maia gave the Watcher a dutiful salute, with Ishiza hopping close by.

“Ah, oh.” Charlotte wasn’t sure how to properly respond for a few seconds, and she did her best to mimic the salute that her companion gave her. “At…ease…?” Maia relaxed at the command, a brow raising at the Watcher.

“You…have no idea how to speak to me, huh?”

“You got that right, Maia.” Serafen interjected from the bench. Charlotte cleared her throat, feeling a rush of heat going to her cheeks. "Got ourselves a fresh faced cap."

“My apologies, it’s my first time interacting with the Royal Deadfire Company. Not to mention I’m more…casual with my companions.” She gestured to the small gathering of people next to them. Maia turned to face them, scrutinizing them if Charlotte had to guess. Her eyes lingered particularly on Xoti, eyes meeting and causing the young girl to blush and look away. Then she looked at Pallegina, her golden eyes squinting and meeting Maia’s. There would certainly be tension between the two, and that would be a headache to sort out. The aumaua turned back to the Watcher, making a few notes that would most certainly find their way delivered to the hazanui.

“I can tell. But I take no issue with that of course, Captain.” Maia replied matter-of-factly, eyes not leaving the paper she writes on. She rolled the paper up and tugged it into her belt before finally looking up at the captain. “I look forward to working with you more- and I’m sure there is plenty of work for you at the Royal Deadfire Company.” Ishiza gave a happy squawk to finish off the sentiment. She extended her hand out, and Charlotte took it. The aumaua gave a strong, tight handshake. It felt like it was practiced over and over again over the years, something that Charlotte was quite found of.

With introductions done for the while, the team decided to make their way out of Queen’s Berth and into Periki’s Overlook at Prince Aruihi’s request. Supposedly yet _another_ companion awaited them in the Watershapers Guild. Aloth made his way to Charlotte’s side as they made their way to the front of the guild, a hint of worry in his face.

“You sure are making quite a number of friends in such a short amount of time.” He said in a small hushed voice. Charlotte couldn’t help but smile at his worry.

“I don’t intend to collect all these people, they just…sort of find their way to me.” She said, trying to reassure him. He folded his fingers in front of him, taking in her words. He spoke slowly to her, as if trying to make every word count.

“These people all seem to have their own…intentions. I would not want you to find yourself in the middle of their own problems.”

There was truth to his words, and Charlotte knew this. She turned away from him for a second, rubbing her chin and she thought. He always offered good advice, and Charlotte would be remiss if she did not heed his words. She looked back at him and smiled before responding.

“You’re right, but…you know me. I can’t help trying to help others to the best of my abilities.” She gave him a reassuring pat on the back. “Thank you for your concern, Aloth.”

The response didn’t seem to dissuade him, he knew she was stubborn in her kindness in that way. “I suppose that is what I’m most afraid of…”

Their conversation was cut short by their arrival to the grandiose wooden doors of the Watershapers Guild. The Watcher took hold of the handle, feeling the cool surface of the gold handle touch her skin as she took hold of the door and pushed it open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many apologies to Tekehu and Iselmyr lovers! I felt like I was running the chapter too long so I had to cut them out of the chapter, but I do hope to touch upon them in later chapters. Iselmyr especially will be tough...I cannot figure out her dialect and how to write it in the slightest. I didn't completely wipe her from Aloth, but she doesn't talk much in my game to begin with.
> 
> Worth mentioning now that the title of this story is from a song called "Loti" by the band Eidola. The lyric section for the song goes "I was told I could be anything I wanted to be / But conflicting opinions have led me to see / I was born to be everything you've seen in your dreams / A catalyst of providence, a glitch in the seams". The definition of providence fit very well considering the theme of the game too...and catalyst is a fun word.
> 
> Apologize for the ramble, thank you for reading!


	3. Glacial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buried in mounds of work, the Watcher, Aloth, and Pallegina sort out what the next moves are for the team; by the looks of it the animancers are quite...desperate for some help that only a certain special Watcher can help with.

For about a week or so the crew of _The Defiant_ would be busy running around and familiarizing themselves with Neketaka, doing whatever they can to help others (at Charlotte’s request) and trying to scramble as much money as they could. There was thankfully some copper that was left over from Caed Nua’s destruction, so they weren’t completely milked dry- Charlotte was also able to do some wonderful smooth talking with the shipwright Zamar and was able to get a discount with him. They purchased a cute dhow, which stood as a much nicer upgrade to the Dyrwoodan Slop they arrived in. The dhow was much larger and cozier, and the rooms didn’t look like mini cells when you walked into them! There was plenty of room to walk around in and given the current size of the crew and the Watcher’s companions, the upgrade was much needed if they were going to be travelling for very long.

 _‘A happy crew is a determined crew’,_ Charlotte thought, marking off the purchase of the ship of her to-do list. She was seated in the war room of the ship, dozens of papers scattered in front of her. She twirled the quill in her hand, rubbing her fingers across the soft feathers of the writing instrument. Her cyan eyes slowly drifted from the to-do list to the papers that were on the table in front of her. Lots of them were bounties, grievances, missives and other notes about the multitude of requests that was given to the team. The Watcher intended on going through them eventually, but she _kinda_ had a problem with taking on way too much and never organizing herself- which is why she was very grateful that Pallegina and Aloth offered to help keep the Watcher organized.

And as if on cue, the duo walked into the room, both looking at the table and giving a very exacerbated sigh. Charlotte put her hands up, getting ready to explain herself.

“It’s not _that_ messy! I know where everything is!” Aloth shook his head, almost completely sure she had no idea where anything besides the quill in hand was. Pallegina closed the door behind them, not wanting the noise of the crewmates hauling and moving boxes into the new ship to distract them.

“I have no doubt on that.” Aloth moved to the other side of the table from Charlotte, trying to find papers of similar requests. “But if I left the table as is, I fear I might go a little mad.”

“I _was_ going to organize too, I swear!” Her companions raised an eyebrow in complete disbelief. “…I just got distracted making sure I took note of our finances.” Pallegina couldn’t help but chuckle at the Watcher.

After a few minutes of organizing the table and all their requests, they placed the biggest bunch of papers in front of them for review- in this case it was the number of requests from the Vailian Trading Company. Charlotte picked up the pile and flickered through the pages, eyes quickly darting and reading each of them. It wasn’t until she was going through them that she realized that the requests took up _multiple_ pages! She titled her head as she went through the requests, face slowly turning into a grimace.

“The Vailians sure…are quite elaborate in their requests.”

“Ac. It’s good to make sure there is no confusion in what they ask of you, Watcher.” Pallegina was standing to the Watcher’s left, golden eyes looking over her shoulder as she read the papers. “But I will be more than happy to help you understand any of their requests.”

Charlotte smiled- she had no doubt that Pallegina would. The paladin had unwavering conviction and belief in the Vailian Trading Company, and would no doubt want to be there to help support them on their missions. Her voice always sounded more confident and happier whenever she had an opportunity to talk about them, and Charlotte enjoyed hearing her talk about her love for her country.

As they made idle chatter about the sheer number of requests from the Vailians, a knock came at the door. Aloth walked over and opened the door and was promptly greeted by Maia and Ishiza. They made their way into the room and gave a small salute to Charlotte (specifically so, as Maia made no effort to look at Pallegina). The Watcher gave a small salute as well- albeit a bit too stiff. The aumaua plopped a giant bag of copper onto the table, as well as a few neatly rolled papers- Charlotte stared at bewilderment at the items.

“You finished all these bounties that fast?” She asked, half in wonder and in surprise. The bounties were given to her a day after they met, and Maia insisted that she could handle them to help the Watcher get organized and take all these recent events in. Maia folded her arms, and a smug smile formed on her lips.

“I told you I could handle it, Captain. All small fry that me and Ishiza could handle with our eyes closed.” The bird by her side puffed his chest out in pride. Charlotte couldn’t hide the smile on her face, nor the wide eyes of shock. She took the scrolls and the bag of copper and set them next to the papers on the table.

“Thank you, Maia- this will help a lot. We should be able to buy quite a lot of food and drink with this.” She said, sincerity in her voice. Maia gave a small nod, before moving closer to the trio, standing opposite of where Pallegina is and looking down at the missives. Charlotte could feel the godlike’s body tense on her left side and hoped that there wasn’t going to be a fight in the room.

“So, what’s next, Captain?” Maia asked, looking over the piece of paper the Watcher had stopped at.

“Ah, nothing is set in stone currently. We’re reviewing all the papers to see what our next plan of action is.” Out of the corner of Charlotte’s eyes, she could feel the intense gaze of Pallegina staring right at Maia, who was too busy looking at the papers. The Watcher half expected Pallegina’s flames to burst from her eyes instead of her hands, a prospect she was not excited for considering they were _surrounded_ by wood and other very flammable objects.

“Have you considered going to Hasongo? You know…cause of Eothas?” Maia’s questions seemed to hit Charlotte out of nowhere, and it was obvious by the complete empty stare that the Watcher gave her that a certain someone completely forgot about that.

There was a large collective groan in the room. The Watcher brought the papers to her face to smother the embarrassment away.

“There’s just _a lot_ happening right now!” She said into the pages, not wanting to face her allies. Maia chuckled, giving her captain a gentle pat on the back.

“Sorry, Captain.” She wasn’t sorry, as much as she tried to make her voice sound like she was. “We’ve been docked here for a week and a half; it might be best to get things moving along.”

Charlotte dropped the papers onto the table and took a deep breath to compose herself. Maia had a fair point- she wouldn’t want the crew to get restless from being docked in one city for too long. But there was just a lot of stuff to do, and it seemed like so very little time to process it all with Eothas marching along from adra pillar to adra pillar. Whatever the god had planned, it seemed to take precedent over everything else—but the Watcher was in no way content with ignoring everyone’s pleads for help; she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing that she ignored all these people (not that she really got much sleep to begin with).

“Unfortunately, it’s in the Watcher’s nature to help every soul she comes across.” Aloth said, shaking his head with a smile on his face. He traveled with Charlotte long enough to know that she isn’t one to say no to someone who needed her.

Maia shrugged. “Well, I did say Atsura and the hazanui had plenty of work for you at the Brass Citadel- have you taken a look at those papers?” She reached on the table for the stack of papers belonging to her faction and attempted to smother them into Charlotte’s hands. The pale elf fumbled with the stack of papers in her hands, trying to sort them all out with both hands. Aloth gave a sigh, peeved that his neat organization had gotten messed up so quickly.

“Ah, no, I uh, hadn’t. I was looking at the Vailian’s stack, first.” She tried to flip through the pages again, trying to find the missive she was reading. “Flaune is an animancer at the Spire of the Soul-Seers, and I was thinking maybe we could help her with her…” she squints as she tries to read the atrocious handwriting on the page. “Something…about…teleportation? I think that’s what that word is supposed to be.”

Pallegina was the first to react. “Ac. The research that they do in the Spire would no doubt be crucial to finding Eothas.” She said so in such a matter-of-factly way that Charlotte was convinced that her companion really didn’t want her looking at anything Royal Deadfire Company related.

“But do we know how stable their work is? Is this the first time she’s done something like this? Or are we just walking into certain death?” Aloth said in response, voicing his frustrations. In his years of trying to dismantle the Leaden Key, he found himself questioning just about any animancer he came across—while he was interested in their findings and determined to make sure they weren’t abusing their knowledge, he certainly didn’t feel completely comfortable around them.

“I highly doubt they’d try to kill the Watcher.” Pallegina replied, her golden eyes staring back at Aloth. He didn’t seem completely convinced, but at least he wasn’t standing so stiffly.

“And I’m sure the gods wouldn’t take too kindly to me dying so soon in my journey.” Charlotte said, smiling at Aloth in another attempt to placate him. It looked like it didn’t base on how he immediately stiffened _again_. She reached over and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

“Let’s just hear them out, yes? If it sounds sketchy, we can walk out.” She smiled, hoping her confidence would help ease him out of his concerns. The Watcher picked the missive out of the bundle of papers that she held in her hand and gently rolled it, and tucked it into her belt. “Let’s grab Edér, too. I’m sure he’d love to join us.”  
  


* * *

  
“So… _where_ exactly are we supposed to…walk out, Watcher?” Aloth groaned out, rolling to his side and slowly propping his body up with his hands. Charlotte didn’t respond, knowing very well whatever she was gonna say wasn’t going to make this situation better.

She was lying on her back, sore and heavy from that whole…whatever the hell experiment thing that Flaune and the animancers put them through. The air felt stiff and heavy, every breath felt like a force that was slowly tightening around her throat, drying her mouth and making it hard to get the words out. It was cold, and by the way her companions were shaking it must’ve been much, much colder than what she could feel. For once she was incredibly thankful to be from the Lands. She couldn’t see anything that looked like an adra pillar- in fact, this place looked like quite the opposite! It looked _completely_ devoid of any and all life. A sense of regret flared in her chest, and for a moment did in fact regret that she had the mind to help the animancers. But only for a moment, as that regret was smothered by _another_ feeling of regret—one that said ‘don’t be mean, just help them.’

Edér sat up first, confusion and unease in his face. He slowly stood up, rubbing his arms and stretching to try and get some energy flowing through him. Pallegina followed suit, a few choice Vailian swears being muttered as she walked over to Charlotte, extending a hand to help lift her off the ground. The Watcher took it, noticing how extremely cold the hand felt- the paladin was usually flowing with warmth, and it felt like she was completely devoid of it. Her staring caught Pallegina’s eye, and she made a frown.

“Cuè? Is there something the matter, Watcher?” Charlotte wasn’t sure how to ask, but she figured she might as well ask while everyone was trying to wake up.

“Are you…all really cold?” Aloth was the one who was reacting quite visibly- hands wrapped around his body, but the rest of the team didn’t seem too bothered by it. Edér spoke up first.

“It does feel pretty nippy here…”

“I’m trying not to think about it…” Maia said, Ishiza rubbing against her leg. It looked like he was cold.

Charlotte looked back at Pallegina, who merely nodded as a response. She bit a knuckle, trying to figure out where they may be. The world around them was a place of blocky, rectangular structures- coated in what looked like a sheet of ice. Structures and buildings folded in and emerged in one another, impossible geometry erupting from the edges of the paths. Everything looked like it was carved from one giant block of ice.

_Ice._

And then it hit her. She turned to her team a slight bit of worry on her face. “I think wherever we are, it might be in Rymrgand’s lands. How on earth Flaune sent us here, I…have no clue, truth be told.”

Her words were met with intense, wide eyed stares. Aloth gave her a mighty fine stare, one that screamed _‘I absolutely told you so’_ , and by the gods did he have _every_ right to be mad at her in this instance.

“The lad ‘ad it right, lass! We’re freezin’!” Iselmyr chimed in for Aloth, her voice loud and abrasive as it breaks the silence. The elf cleared his throat and turned his face, annoyed that she spoke without warning (as she usually does).

“So how do we get out of here, Captain? Can you…’watch’ for a way out, or something?” Maia chimes in, still taking in the whole situation as best she can. Charlotte looks down at the floor, back to Maia, and her body turns behind, to what she can only hope is a slope down. She moves that way and her companions follow.

They slowly walk down the railing, feeling the pressure of some intense, unknown force meticulously crush them, making the descent more uneasy. They pass by figures frozen in movement, a grain to them that makes them look like they’ve been covered, or maybe even built, from sand. There’s something there—something in them that tugs at Charlotte and she finds herself standing at one. She’s felt this feeling back at the dig site but did nothing to touch them, wanting to respect their state of…well, existing, one could say.

“The researchers at the dig site turned into this when Eothas showed up.” Aloth said, scooting next to her with his arms crossed. He gave a small sigh and shook his head, unease written all over his state.

“So, I guess this means these people have no souls in them, either…” Charlotte stared back at the ‘person’ in front of them. It’s face a blurry, grainy mess, features indiscernible besides the gaping mouth- the pose reads of one who is backing away from someone, or something. She reaches out, slowly, to touch it’s hand. But at the featherlight touch of the Watcher’s finger, the ‘person’ disintegrates into soft, small beads of matter, and sinks away. A loud audible gasp comes from Charlotte as she steps away, covering her mouth in utter regret.

She has no time to properly digest her actions, as the large audible scream of another being in this realm takes the group’s attention away. Down the edge of the slope is a small trio of figures, running away from- from _something_. A discernable mass of light and energy approached them, helpless to fight it, they can only watch as it approaches them. The Watcher and her companions draw their weapons and _floor_ it to the trio- suddenly deafened by the screeches and moans that the mass energy radiates as it rips the trio of strangers into pieces.

A low, guttural rumble of pain and agony emanate from it- the brilliant white light both a beacon and a curse, swirls of energy floating from it. Charlotte can’t take her eyes off it- her Watcher senses are on high alert. That thing is a mass of them, a mass of souls desperately moving and clinging and reaching for something, _anything_ ; their screams are louder in her hand- a maelstrom in existence, and a maelstrom in her head that pounded and begged for her to take them from this existence they’ve been forced into. Her eyesight goes foggy and she steps back, nearly losing herself in their calling.

Her companions zoom in on the creature as she stands back, still in a daze at the force of the being. Pallegina and Edér are tearing into it with their swords, Maia taking careful, straight aims at it as it radiates out energy in reaction. Aloth is in the middle of invoking a spell when he looks over at the Charlotte, her hazy look worrying him again. He stops casting and reaches out to her, gripping her shoulder and shaking her.

“H-hey! Watcher!” He says, eyes flickering between the swirling energy mass and his friend. She comes to (thankfully) with a shake of her head, eyes more focused and clearer now. She gives Aloth a shaky smile, one that does nothing to really reassure him that she’s okay.

“Sorry, just lost my train of thought.” She was a horrible, horrible liar. By the time she comes to, the mass…disintegrates? Vanishes? Does _something_ and it’s gone into thin air. What it leaves behind is a purple clump of…even more confusion. Charlotte walks towards it and gets down on one knee, reaching out to it (apparently not having learned from what happened the last time she did that).

It washes over her- waves of confusion, and the feeling of jumping. Jumping from memory to memory, feeling erratic moments of feelings, places, people- a jumbled mess of existence.

She shakes her head, slowly standing back and coming too. What’s left in her hand is the purple, tangled essence of the enemy- it feels heavy in her hand, but the feeling of it as she brushes her fingers feels soft and slightly warm.

“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do for this soul…” Charlotte’s eyes droop, staring at the essence in her hand. “It’s all…messed up. It feels like it’s a bundle up mess of souls.”

“Is that why you were dazed out back there?” Aloth said, moving in close to her, eyes moving from the essence in her hand to her face.

“Yes…yes, it was like…they were calling out to me. But they were all talking at once, all trying to get my attention. Must’ve been…dozens of voicing screaming for my attention.” The Watcher sighed and put the essence into her pack for now. She was suddenly feeling very tired.

The team walked down the path that seemed to lead down into a larger opening, with about twenty or so bodies, all frozen in time, all glazed with the same grainy sand look that the previous bodies had. They gazed in the direction of a glacial head, a tall, imposing structure whose solid eyes seem to be following and staring right into the team’s soul. As they slowly approached the structure they felt a cold, damp wind coming from all directions. Something rocked their cores, and their sensations were overflowed by something that was encroaching on them from all sides.

_“A wayward Watcher has wandered into my Realm. Tell me—why should I not grind your soul to dust?”_

A voice shook out. A deep, strong voice that echoed in their ears and in their bodies, the feeling of something shaking and rattling their insides- a powerful god laid in front of them, in the structures of his massive head.

Maia’s mouth hung slack at the sight of the voice in their heads. “What on earth is _that_?”

Edér tightened his grip on his shield and moved closer to Charlotte, preparing to take action if necessary. “Well, _this_ is what you get for hanging out with us. Fun right?”

Maia wasn’t sure whether to kick him in the teeth or not.

“Rymrgand—nice to see you.” It was time to put Charlotte’s golden tongue to work and not get her friends killed.

 _“A pleasure as always, child of the Lands. You didn’t answer my question.”_ His voice was everywhere and everything at once, in the rumbles that echoed from beneath them, to the echoes that carried in the wind, and the vibrations that hummed silently in everyone’s chest as the god in front of them spoke. Charlotte sheathed her rapier and spoke.

“I think if you killed me, Berath would be really unhappy and give you hell in the next meeting.”

_“I do not fear Berath’s wrath. Embrace oblivion with open arms, Watcher.”_

The wind that met them in this space sharpened, whipping and biting away at everyone’s skin- sharp whips and gusts wash and envelope the team. It picks up faster and faster as time goes on, and Charlotte barely has time to react and scream, no, _beg_ for the god of her people to have mercy on them—or at the very least, her friends.

A bitter laugh parts and halts the wind as quickly as it starts it.

_“How droll. As much as it would delight me to scatter your soul, you belong to Berath. I will spare you—for now.”_

Her skin is red and covered in burns. She has not felt these kinds of cold burns in some time, yet the pain is familiar to her. She turns back and looks at her friends, in more serious wear than she is.

“Thank you, Rymrgand. A little warning next time?” Charlotte did her best not to pick and scratch at the dry skin.

_“No.”_

“…I figured as much.” She sighed, clasping her hands together. “I take it this is all your doing?” Her head moves to the figures behind her locked in stillness.

_”Of course. This is my realm- I hold dominion over those that have entered and will not hesitate to obliterate them if I so choose. Were I not the generous creature that I am, you would have died.”_

Charlotte wants so badly to make a humorous joke out of all this, but knows the words can’t form themselves in her head.

_“You were brought here by your animancer friends— they meddle in things beyond their comprehensions. Be sure to tell them that they have failed, and that they have drawn my gaze. I will not hesitate to obliterate them if they irritate me again.”_

The cold wind smacks against Charlotte’s pointed ears, singeing her as if to prove a point.

“I will, I assure you.” She gently rubs a finger along the tip of her ears, wincing at the immense pain that’s been left there.

Rymrgand stays true to his word, and a portal opens a few feet away from the group. A cold, wicked laugh echoes in the distance as he leaves them, the wind dying down as quickly as it arrived. The five of them stand there for a few minutes, digesting all that happened just now.

“You know, until now I thought all this might be a very elaborate joke, Captain.” Maia confessed, rubbing her left arm. Charlotte turned to look at her, raising an arm to give her a pat on the shoulder.

“Unfortunately, I’m not as talented as Edér when it comes to joking.” She was genuine in her words, unsure of how to properly respond. The Watcher looked at the rest of the group, everyone looking worse for wear and ready to go back to the ship for a good’s night rest.

The group made their way to the portal, exhausted from their short time in Rymrgand’s realm. The Watcher extended her hand into the portal, and an unrelenting force pulled their bodies and their souls back (and prone) at the top of the Spire of the Soul-Seers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a rough chapter for me to write. The "inspiring prompt" of the day was just a quote, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to write the chapter, but I did my best to make a complete piece. The whole event with the animancers always felt pretty crucial to me, so I figured I'd do that one. 
> 
> Next few chapters we might start picking up the pace with some more time skips! I always feel like it's a cop out, but for real this time, I think I might do it. Gotta figure out a good nice time period for it.
> 
> Fun fact: I did the animancers quests actually a bout halfway through the game and Aloth actually confessed to my Watcher while we were inside. Romantic, am I right?
> 
> As always, thank you for reading- and if you're in the US, I hope Thanksgiving was fun for you!


	4. Bearings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a month of preparing, the team finally make it to Hasongo to connect with the luminous adra pillar there, and Eder is excited to finally look for his old flame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small warning I'd like to give is that there is small mentions of suicide in later parts of this chapter. If that's any issue for people, please be weary of the of the 5th section in this chapter.

Edér leaned against the railing of the ship, eyes focused on the encroaching docks of Hasongo. The sun had started to set, the sky a wonderful blend of purples and reds. Clouds shifted and moved above him as he lifted his gaze upwards to take the moment in—a soft breeze brushed against his face, soothing and comforting as it whipped around him. He took his pipe out and did what he did best- filled it with whiteleaf, taking care not to let the wind carry it away as he prepared it. Warmth spread through his body as he inhaled, leaning forward and staring harder at the island- it wouldn’t be much longer until they’d dock at Hasongo and contact the adra pillar on the island.

His thoughts flocked all over the place- to the Watcher, to the gods, to whatever chaos and destruction they’ll find at Hasongo, and to Elafa. It would be unfair to call her an old flame when the thought of her brought a smile and warmth in Edér like if she was still here, by his side. It had been years since they’ve seen each other, and yet he still remembers the wild passion in her eyes, the energy and the fire that she had in her body and in everything she did. Elafa was wild and carefree, and Edér was _smitten_ with her in every way his body could fall for someone. He was excited to see her again, excited to reunite and to catch up; even to see her child. He wondered if Elafa would like Charlotte.

“You look like you have a lot on your mind.” Charlotte strolled over to Edér, propping her elbow on the railing and turning to face him. Edér smiled.

“Yeah, I guess you can say that.” His light green eyes drifted from her to Hasongo. Her eyes followed his gaze, a small ‘ah’ forming on her lips.

“Nervous about seeing Elafa?” An obvious question with an obvious answer, but she asked it anyway- Edér’s nod to be expected.

“I’m surprised that’s the only thing on your mind- you _know_ we’re hunting a god, not hunting my old flames.” He laughed as he spoke, but deep down he was incredibly happy that Charlotte even humored him on his request. The matters of their journey were bigger than them both, bigger than him especially, but…He was happy, happy to have someone who was willing to do this for him.

Charlotte smiled, chuckling along with Edér. “Yes, I know—but this is important to you, so I want to see this through.” She folded her hands on the railing, joining her companion in looking out to Hasongo. “You think she’ll recognize you?”

“I dunno- last time I saw her I wasn’t this hairy.” He scratched his beard as if to prove a point.

“Could always shave it off really quick.” Charlotte looked at her own mass of snowy white hair that was stuffed into a massive ponytail. “We could both use a trim, I think.” They chuckled, short and sweet before continuing to stare off into the horizon.

They were quiet for a few minutes before the Watcher broke the silence.

“You think she could teach me how to raise a child?”

Edér let out a loud _howl_ of laughter, coughing from being caught off guard by the question. He wiped a tear from his eye before he spoke, laughter between words.

“You—oh my god– you want her to, to what?” Charlotte gave him a stern look, cyan eyes staring into his. She was too soft, too kind to _really_ give anyone any kind of evil look, but Edér gave her points for trying.

“I’m just saying, she has a kid of her own, so you know…maybe she can give me some pointers.” Charlotte’s eyes darted to the door that led below deck, and to the rest of the rooms. She half expected Vela to come out and interrupt them, as if to prove a point. Edér raised an eyebrow.

“I’m surprised you want pointers; I think little Vela is doing just fine! ‘Sides, everyone really likes her, too.”

“I’m flattered- it’s not every day you sort of kidnap a baby so that it doesn’t get sacrificed, you know.” She laughs at the memory—in the moment it might’ve been one of the most terrifying things she’s ever done. In fact, probably one of the _dumbest_ things she’s ever done in all her years of being alive. And yet, she’s taken an incredible liking to Vela, and couldn’t imagine not having the child in her life. “Are you excited to see the kid, too?”

Mixed emotions wash over Edér’s face at the question. A sad smile comes over his face, and he looks at the Watcher to answer. “I…I’m not sure. A part of me wonders if it’s mine, another part wonders if she’d even want to let me see him…that kinda stuff.” His hands ball into a fist on the railing. “But…I know I want nothing more than to just…see them. At least to sate my curiosity.”

Charlotte nods and reaches out to Edér, giving his shoulder a few friendly smacks. “You and me both.”

The navigator of _The Defiant_ yelled down from his post, signaling the approach to Hasongo. Edér tucked his pipe into his pack and steeled himself for what awaited him in the island. He has so many thoughts and emotions in his head, but the warmth of hope and excitement mingled and washed over those worries and fears.

He was as ready as he’d ever be.  
  


* * *

  
“So…we gonna talk about what just happened in there?” Edér stopped the group as they walked down the stairs from the lighthouse. He crossed his arms and looked up at Charlotte who was just a few stairs above him.

“…Do we have to?” Charlotte responded, still rubbing her forehead as she desperately tried to work the headache from her body. She managed to talk down Sugaan, the naga shaman that was leading the incursion in Hasongo- a group that was desperately trying to protect the luminous adra pillar out of desperation. If it wasn’t for the fact that Charlotte was well read on her historical knowledge of all things related to, well, history, she was certain that would have gone completely south—especially when a certain Maia Rua was ready to put a hole into the Naga’s skull.

The Watcher managed to talk down the shaman and connect to the adra pillar, contacting Eothas and getting a piece of her soul back. She felt a mix of things at the moment- heavy in a spiritual sense; her soul housed a plethora of memories from her adventures in the Dyrwood, and it felt like her brain was shifting into high gear to adjust and piece together everything back into it’s proper place. She also felt a little guilty for not letting Maia get _some_ kind of revenge against the naga. These were her people, her lands in some respect. She made a mental note to buy her companion a drink later and discuss if there was anything she could do to make her feel better (she doubt it, but perhaps the thought would count?).

“I reckon we should! You saw my god, right? What did he say? Did he mention anything about me?” Xoti stepped a few steps to grab Charlotte by the shoulder, eagerly bouncing next to her and awaiting answers. The Watcher for once really didn’t want to have Xoti so excitable next to her, but she did her best to humor the young girl.

“I-I’m sorry, Xoti…he didn’t mention anything about you.” Xoti seemed to relax and sadden at the news. Charlotte gave her a reassuring pat on the back, desperately trying to lighten the situation up. “He, uh, did say that he was going to…some place called Magran’s Teeth.”

Serafen and Maia’s eyes shot open.

“Fuckin’ hell, cap. Are you _sure_ that’s what he said?” Serafen asked, stroking his beard with a look of shock. Charlotte nodded, confused at her friend’s reactions.

“It’s far up north- a chain of islands that’s filled with active volcanos and Magran’s children…rathuns, or something like that.” Maia said, “They’re also incredibly hostile, Captain. I don’t think we’re in any shape to handle them immediately—with all due respect.”

“I see. Thank you, Maia for the information.” The Watcher took in her words- if these “rathun” creatures were as terrible and strong as Maia said, it might be in their best interest to take some time to properly gear themselves up for whatever challenges they’ll face up north.

“Well, we can worry about that later- I think we should let Zuhira know that the naga are gone and that it’s safe for everyone to come out.” Edér said, looking up at the rest of the team. They nodded in agreement, and the team continued their walk back to the docks of Hasongo.

A small crowd of people had made their way to the docks, a mix of humans and aumaua standing idly, talking amongst themselves. Edér reached out for Charlotte’s shoulder, coming in close to her.

“Hey, I think those might be the Dawnstars. Mind if I just go talk to them while you meet up with Zuhira?” His eyes were locked into hers—a sad, puppylike look formed on his face that tugged at the Watcher’s heart a bit.

“Of course, we’ll meet up with you once we’re done here.”

He smiled, mouthing a simple ‘thanks’ as he bolted for the docks and towards the throng of people that were huddling around the footprint that Eothas was so kind to leave behind. He moved from person to person, asking about Elafa and describing her as best he could, but wasn’t getting very far. Some of the Dawnstar members gave very vague hints and ideas about where she might be, pointing to other women across from them and thinking that might be Elafa (they weren’t), and he found himself running in circles for a few minutes. He was starting to think that maybe she wasn’t here, and that she was on some other island entirely; the lack of direction was getting to him, and for a moment he felt the creeping feeling of defeat rising in his spine.

A warm hand found its way onto his shoulder, and he spun around.

“Ah, Charlotte- oh.”

Pallegina’s golden eyes squinted at him. “Ado, Edér. Disappointed to see me?”

“Oh, not at all, sorry, I uh. I just expected Charlotte to follow me. She always does.” Edér rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Pallegina pointed to the Watcher who was a few yards away, a scroll of paper being handed to her by Zuhira. Maia was standing close by, also engaging in the conversation. The godlike’s golden eyes were ablaze once more as she stared down the Royal Deadfire members.

“Still haven’t warmed up to Maia, have you?”

“Ac. She has her moments, of course. I admire her sense of duty to her country, and her people. She…reminds me of myself, in that sense.” She turned her gaze back to her friend. “Tell me, have you found Elafa yet?”

“No, there’s one more kid I haven’t spoken to. Was uh…gonna wait for Charlotte to come by.”

“No luck?”

“I just don’t think I have her way with words. She’s better equipped for this.” He let out a small, defeated sigh. “Anyways, what’re you doing out the ship?” Pallegina put a finger on her lips, pondering the question, muttering to herself softly.

“Tekehu was driving me insane with his questions about Hylea.” Blunt and to the point; Edér couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ah, Pallegina!” The Watcher finally made her way to the pair, with Maia and Xoti in tow. Pallegina gave her a small nod in greeting. “Serafen decided to go back to the ship for some rest- how’re things going? Any luck?” Edér simply shook his head.

“There is one kid I haven’t spoken to- I figured you might be more convincing than I am. He’s not too far from here.”

The kid stood perfectly still and content compared to the myriad of kith next to him- from his posture alone one would think he didn’t experience the horror that was Eothas and the Naga in Hasongo. Edér reached out to the kid, trying to get his attention. The kid turned and looked at Edér, his face a complete blank slate of emotion- eyes completely empty save for the eyebrow quirked up in confusion.

“Light of Eothas be upon you, neighbors—I’m Bearn. Are you looking for survivors?” His voice was stiff- much like his posture, it felt devoid of personality.

“We are, my friend here is looking for someone who might’ve lived here.” Charlotte motioned to Edér, who was staring at the kid ever since he turned to face them.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah. Kinda short, lots of freckles- probably kept her hair in braids. Hot-headed and full of life. She might be around my age, too.”

The kid tilted his head for a second, before answering. “That doesn’t ring any bells, my apologies.”

Edér wasn’t taking that for an answer.

“Listen, you don’t have to lie to me- I’m a friend of your mother’s.” There was a slight flinch in Bearn at Edér’s words. “You have her freckles and her nose- hell even her eyes. Is she hiding from someone?”

Bearn began to show some semblance of life- he took a step back, his eyes widening a bit. Charlotte decided to re-enter the conversation in hopes to try and save face.

“We’re friends of Elafa- it’s been some time since we’ve seen her. A friend from the Temple of Gaun in Neketaka told us that she’d be here; we mean no harm, we promise.” For a second he relaxed, stepping back closer to the team.

“Yes. Friends of Elafa’s.” Back to no emotions again.

“Did you, uh, know your father?” Edér chimed back in again. Bearn looked back at him.

“Yes. Back when I was very young…we lost him during the Purges, hence why we fled here. Was he also your friend?” Edér’s face went dark at the sudden revelation from Bearn. He looked away from him and said nothing. Pallegina leaned into Edér, giving him a gently pat on the back.

“Ah, yes—he was also a friend of ours. Um, thank you for the news.” Charlotte said biting her lip. This certainly wasn’t going in the direction that she expected, and from the way that Edér took the news, she was hoping for better news about Elafa. “Back to your mother…”

A small trace of a smile formed on Bearn’s lips as he spoke. “My mother is with Eothas.” The group looked confused. The kid opened his mouth to elaborate.

“She passed the Veil, a few years ago. A flu.”

There is a sudden, stunned silence that hangs in the air. Edér’s eyes widen—his usual light blue eyes darken with rage. His face goes scarlet, a tense aura emanating from him as he takes a step forward to the boy—unflinching a he approaches him.

“You _lied_ to us! You said you didn’t know her! You expect **me** to believe you?” Pallegina and Maia move in front of Edér, trying to hold him back. Bearn stands rigid as stone, completely unbothered by the scene appearing in front of him.

“I’m not lying—she’s buried on the other side of that hill.” He points to the north, to a large hill that towers above some of the buildings in Hasongo. Edér’s gaze flickers between Bearn and the hill, fist clenched so violently the team was afraid he would rip his palms right open.

“…Thank you, Bearn, for the information. We’re sorry to have reminded you of your parent’s passing.” Charlotte extended her right hand to Bearn—she was desperate to diffuse the situation before it got worse. She knew that Edér wouldn’t hesitate to pounce on Bearn if he got too riled up, and even with the combined strength of Pallegina and Maia, it would be a mess to pry the man off the kid.

Bearn shook her hand- stiff and awkward, as if he’d never shook hands before.

“It is alright. You’ve been to Neketaka, right? If you’re feeling lost, please seek out Ogne of the Partisans of the Lighted Path. We’re a subsection of the Children of the Dawnstars, led by Gaderian Bosc—please let them know I sent you.”

“The…Partisans of the Lighted Path…I will, thank you.” She had never heard of this sect before, and from the quick glance she gave to Xoti, it looks like the little priestess hasn’t either. The Watcher made her leave of Bearn, signaling for the rest of the team to follow. The words Bearn spoke hung heavy in everyone’s head, and there was a tense silence that followed the team as they boarded _The Defiant_.  
  


* * *

  
“Please talk to me.” Charlotte was sitting across from Edér in the mess hall, his head pressed against the table. His hands gripped his head tightly, red and tense from the intensity of his grip. The Watcher sighed but stayed put, simply mimicking his posture and placed her head on the table as well, cheek gently pressed against the wood.

“I don’t know what to say.” Edér said, speaking into the table.

“I’ll take anything, I don’t want you to suffer in quiet.” Edér knew that the Watcher wouldn’t leave his side until he said something more constructive than _that_. He let out a heavy, heavy sigh. Multiple of them, in fact. So many of them that it sounded like he was expunging all the air that was in his lungs. Deep, guttural, noisy sighs of anger and frustration. Charlotte smiled and laughed.

“Feel better?” She adjusted her posture now, folding her legs under the table.

“Yeah, actually.” Edér lifted his face up, looking up at Charlotte. He looked exhausted, looked as if he aged a few years since the conversation between Bearn and the team. “That…didn’t go as planned. I didn’t mean to lose my temper like that.”

“I don’t blame you—I uh…didn’t expect that whole…conversation either.” She took a sip of the khapa tea she brewed, thankful for the hot beverage. She moved the teapot over to Edér, motioning for him to drink. He did as he was told and began to pour himself some tea.

“I…I’ll be honest, Charlotte. I can’t believe that’s Elafa’s son.” He looked up at her, who only returned a small nod of acknowledgement, urging him to continue talking. “Elafa was so…full of life, full of vigor, you know?” He held the cup of tea in his hands, feeling the warmth of the cup climb from his fingers to his body.

“But he was just…completely devoid of life. He was like a rock- like, like a wall, you know?” His thoughts felt all over the place- he had a lot to say, but he didn’t know how to exactly get the thoughts into words. “Felt like he was kinda under some spell, or something.” He took a sip of the tea and made a face of disgust. “Oh, this is so bitter.”

Charlotte laughed. “That’s why I brought the milk and the sugar.” She watched her friend consistently test the flavor of the tea one cube of sugar and a small splash of milk at a time. “Do you think that group he mentioned might have to do with it?”

“Yeah…yeah, maybe. Mind if we take a second to talk to them at Neketaka? I don’t expect much but…This Bosc guy sounds sketchy as hell.”

“Of course, that shouldn’t be an issue. We’ll go there after we report back to Atsura at the Brass Citadel- is that alright with you?”

Edér looked at Charlotte, determination in his eyes. “Yeah, sounds good.”  
  


* * *

  
It wasn’t too difficult to find this “Ogne” person that Bearn spoke of. She was huddled in the corner of the room in the Temple of Gaun, along with other members of her sect, all handing out flyers and preaching about the work they did. Edér looked incredibly uncomfortable as they approached, and Charlotte anticipated that she’d have to do the talking to try and save face.

Ogne spread her hands out and pulled Charlotte into an awkward hug, tightly wrapping her hands around the Watcher. Charlotte’s hands remained at her side, blindsided by the sudden action. She was released from the hug, Ogne putting her hands behind her back.

“Welcome, welcome. Have you come to learn about the Partisans of the Lighted Path?” Her voice was light, airy, and forced. It sounded like she was talking through gritted teeth, her smile painfully wide and dramatic. Rehearsed, one could even say. Charlotte clasped her hands together, doing what she could do sound interested.

“Yes—we were told to come seek you from a friend of ours in Hasongo. Please do tell us more about your work, and of this Gaderian Bosc too.”

Ogne nodded her head, taking a deep breath before telling her story. “We are the Partisans of the Lighted Path- a sect of Eothas’ most righteous and truest followers who will march with him to battle. Our leader had a grand vision of Eothas- was told by our god that he would return to this world as a god and bring forth the cleansing and the end of days. We will march with him side by side in our boats and offer our souls to him so that he may use us to as soldiers to fight his battles. And lo’ and behold, the great god has returned to us, just as Bosc foretold!”

She finished her story with a prideful smile, as if expecting a reward for such a story. Charlotte and Edér exchanged a quick glance before replying. “That’s…wonderful! You truly are as brave as our friend told us. How do we pledge our services to Eothas?”

“My child, only the most righteous of our people can march and sacrifice themselves to our god. One does not simply join the ranks off the bat—you must earn it.”

“Well, our friend spoke so highly of you and your sect—would our want and desire to sacrifice our souls not tell our god Eothas our devotion of him? Would he not want us for our willingness?” Charlotte was talking so far out of her ass that she wondered if Ogne would fall for it.

And fall for it she did.

“My, such…devotion. You sure do has a fiery passion in you, child—however, even if I did let you join, our vanguard is already set to depart from the docks at any moment, but if you’re willing to wait—”

Edér grabbed Charlotte’s shoulder and hauled her out of the temple and into The Sacred Stair. She barely had a moment to react before she was sprinting and running across alleys and bridges and slamming into people as the pair made their way to Queen’s Berth. Edér’s grip was tight on her, and ever second, she felt like she was to tumble, he adjusted his grip, hauling her back to stability as they ran, ran, _ran_ across all of Neketaka. They reached the dock in record time—but no boat looked like anything that would belong to a follower of Eothas.

Charlotte nearly crumpled from exhaustion, her knees chittering away from the strain of all that running, her body nearly folded over from pain. Her breathing was heavy and dry, and she was ready to fall over from exhaustion.

“No….no, no, where is it!?” Edér gripped his head frustration deep in his voice. His whole body was on high alert, his fists clenches tightly again. “Charlotte, gods, Charlotte we have to—"

“We…we will, Edér. I p-promise.” She was able to stand up now, feeling a bit more alive with her lungs functioning. “Come on, we got a boat to catch.”  
  


* * *

  
Finding a boat filled with dead bodies was never a good sign. Finding a boat filled with people who killed themselves for a god who probably didn’t know they were there, who probably could care less for the destruction that was being caused in their name—was it right? Was this all there was to life? To give a life up to a cause that one was so fervent about?

For a moment, Charlotte was happy that…that she had to kill in the past.

There was no blood to be found on the bodies, just a few scattered vials.

“This is…horrible.” Aloth’s face drained itself of all color, his hand covering his mouth as he looked around the bodies.

“Merla…” Pallegina opened her mouth to say more, but the words refused to leave her—her jaw just stood there, slacked and in shock.

There was a door that led to the lower decks, but there was intense hesitation in the group. Charlotte slowly opened the door, and a large noise like something crashing to the floor echoed in their ears—that was never a good sign. They ran downstairs as fast as they could, only to find the same gruesome scene as upstairs.

“No.”

On the floor were another dozen bodies, all surrounded by vials—

“No, no, _no._ ”

And Bearn, was among them.

“ **NO**.”

The four of them made a mad dash to the kid, fear and confusion gripping in their chest. Edér gripped his shoulders and shook the boy, desperate to wake him.

“Edér, stop that! I can’t do anything if you—” Charlotte pleaded, trying to rip her friend’s hands from the kid’s body. He threw her an infuriated gaze- eyes tense and heated, the thin veil of tears clouding them.

“No, no, fuck that Charlotte, I’m not—!” He continued shaking and shaking Bearn's body, pushing away Aloth and Charlotte as they tried to pry his hands away. Pallegina scooped Edér from the floor, holding his hands behind his back and desperately dragging him away.

“Per complanca, Edér, let the Watcher help!” She screamed at him, holding her hands tightly against him as he thrashed in her grip. He kicked and screamed and threw all his weight into his friend—unbending and unable to sit there and do nothing. His vision was clouded with tears as he watched Aloth and Charlotte huddled on the floor and over Bearn, using their combined druid and wizard powers to try and save the only thing that mattered to him in so long. He couldn’t stand just standing by. He couldn’t _, he couldn’t just_ —

“Edér—!” His legs gave out and he crumpled to the floor, folding over himself. Pallegina loosened her grip, unable (not wanting) to fight against him like this. She leaned down to him, placing a hand against his shoulders. “Sientere—please, have faith in the Watcher. She won’t stop at nothing until he’s better.”

Her words were true—Charlotte only ever helped. Only ever sacrificed her time and energy to help. To help _him_. And what was he doing? Yelling, screaming, making Charlotte’s life a living nightmare. He felt like shit. He pounded his fists into the ground, over, and over, and **_over_** again. Why couldn’t he help Charlotte? Why couldn’t he just—?

A violent tremor of coughing interrupted his thoughts. The violent sounds of retching filled the room.

“T-take it easy! Relax! Breath through your nose!” Aloth’s voice was talking to something other than Charlotte. His head flung up to look at the scene unfolding.

“Why…why….?”

Bearn. It was Bearn—He was—

“You…you…!” A flurry of fists was raining upon Charlotte, and she stood there and took it, taking a few steps back at the immense pain being flung at her chest and face. Aloth rushed in and grabbed Bearn, not content with just standing by while his friend was being beaten to death.

“Enough of this! Relax!” Aloth desperately clung to Bearn, only to be shoved in the gut by his elbow, stepping back from the sudden hit. Bearn looked back at Charlotte, tears in his eyes; his face was red, furious and confused.

“I did as my god asked…I was supposed to die! I was supposed to join him in his army—to march with him! I…I was supposed to….!!” He returned to punch at Charlotte, but his fists were nothing more than weak, defeated taps that he could barely lift. "I...I...I was s-supposed to...supposed to..." The Watcher gripped his wrists, doing her best to support his weight and make sure he didn’t collapse on the floor. "I...was....supposed....."

Bearn sobbed for a very, very long time.  
  


* * *

  
“That’s probably the best I can do for you, Watcher. That kid got you good.” Xoti finished applying a soothing balm across Charlotte’s face before closing it and putting it away on one of the many shelves in the infirmary. The Watcher began buttoning her shirt back up, feeling the tinge of pain in her chest as she tried to speak.

“Thank you, Xoti.”

Pallegina was seated in a chair next to her, running a hair through her thick, curly locks. Her golden eyes stared at her friend.

“I’m not sure why you didn’t hit him back—or at least tried to defend yourself more.”

Xoti spoke up, “Because the Watcher knows better than to harm a worshipper of Eothas! My god would never forgive her if she did such a thing.”

Pallegina rolled her eyes, content with completely ignoring that comment and waiting for the Watcher to respond to _her_ question. Charlotte sighed.

“I just…couldn’t do it. I don’t think I’d have it in my heart to hurt someone who was important to Edér.” Charlotte clasped her hands together, absentmindedly playing a loose string on her pants.

“Di verus? Watcher, I think Edér should have lost respect for Bearn the second he laid a hand on you. That was uncalled for— considering you saved his life.” Her feathers ruffled in her hair as she spoke, as If impassioned by Pallegina’s words.

“I…I suppose your right.” Charlotte couldn’t meet Pallegina’s gaze. She wasn’t particularly in the mood to think about what just happened, and was ready to go to bed, in truth. The godlike could see the sadness in her friend’s eyes and stood up, giving her a gentle pat on the knee.

“You should get some rest, aimica. You look exhausted.” Pallegina silently left the infirmary, making her way back to her room. She was right. Charlotte was beyond tired, but there was last thing she needed to do before she could sleep.

Edér was in the deck again, eyes glazed over as he looked out into the starry skies. His head was as cloudy as ever, and for a moment he wished he could be like the star—endless and expansive, doing nothing but existing and brightening everyone’s days when they saw them. Maybe even have some animancers somewhere writing a book about how nice and shiny you were.

Wouldn’t that be the dream?

“I knew I’d find you here.” Charlotte’s voice broke him from his haze, as always. She looked exhausted, just like him, but for some reason he was sure her exhaustion was heavier than he would ever carry, and he was a war veteran.

“Yeah…yeah. You, uh, doing okay?” Was all he could muster out.

“Mhm. Yeah, I’m okay.” A tired, heavy silence filled the air. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I went to bed.”

_All she ever does it help_.

“Thanks. I think I’ll be okay. Just uh…need time to digest everything.”

“Bearn still sleeping?” He passed out once he was done crying, carried by Edér into one of the spare rooms in the ship.

“Yep, sleeping like a baby. I’ll take care of explaining things to the crew in the morning, if you want.” He played with his pipe, running his fingers along it’s smooth wooden surface as he spoke.

“Only if you want. If anyone gives you problems, let me know, yeah?” Charlotte gave his hand a gentle squeeze, before moving to give him a pat on the back.

“I’m gonna head to bed—my body’s about to crash. Don’t stay up too long, yeah?” It was half an order, half a command of friendship and affection.

“Gotcha, cap.” Edér said, giving a mock salute to punctuate the point. Charlotte laughed and retreated into the inside of the ship.

Edér stared one last time to the stars above. Charlotte was like his own star; filling him with hope and happiness by merely existing. He was grateful that he had something shining in his life.

All she ever did was shine for him, and everyone else across the Deadfire; he wanted nothing more than to see her shine forever and ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friends, don't be like me and stay up until nearly 6am trying to get a chapter done. Having a week off from school has not been good for my sleep schedule. I think once things go back to normal starting the 3rd, updates should hopefully slow down and not be at nearly 6am London time!
> 
> Anyway, decided to do a chapter all about moving the plot & touching on Edér's personal quest. The chapter was inspired by the prompt of "direction" and Bearn felt like a good example of a character who was in desperate need of some direction in his life considering all that the Partisans did to him. 
> 
> I modified a lot of the conversation to better fit my narrative, so it isn't 100% true to the game, but I think it still works. Also got really into the writing in the end, hence the sudden drastic tonal shift in the chapter. I tend to get more into writing once I know I'm near the end. Weird how that works sometimes, huh?
> 
> I always imagined that Edér and the Watcher were very close dear friends- never anything romantic truth be told. I wanted to try and capture the absolute care and trust that they have in each other through their actions. It was fun to write!
> 
> Anyway, hope your Friday's been going well!


	5. Yearning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another missive lands in the hands of the Watcher and her crew—this time a cordial invitation for a feast in her honor, held by the people at Harbinger's Watch.
> 
> What awaits her and her companions in cold depths of the Dead Floe?

“I wouldn’t trust any piece of paper that even _looks_ like it might’ve been written in blood.” Aloth grimaced as Charlotte held the missive in her hand. It was late in the evening with nearly everyone on the ship off to bed—except, of course, for Charlotte who insisted on having quite a lot of work to do before she could run off to bed. Aloth wasn’t having any of that and decided to stay up with her until she finally had the gall to run off to bed. He had a feeling he’d be there for a while and opted to brew a large pot of tea for them both to help keep them busy, at the very least. It was also a great opportunity to catch up on reading those books he had been collecting on their journey together!

The Watcher had been idly thumbing the piece of paper, eyes drifting over the missive repeatedly as she read it as if mesmerized by its contents. She smiled and spoke to Aloth, but her gaze continued to stick on the paper.

“I probably shouldn’t, but it’s not every day someone wants to hold a feast in _my_ honor.” She finally sets the paper down and gently tosses it in on the table in front of her. She doesn’t even have to look at Aloth to know he has a frown on his face, and she was happy to know she was right when she did in fact raise her eyes to him.

“I’d say that’s just another reason not to trust them. We don’t even know anyone that’s from this so called ‘Harbinger’s Watch’ place.” He reached for the cup of tea on the table and took a small sip from it, frowning a bit and wondering if he should put some more sugar into it.

“Well, chances are they’re pale elves, like me.” She picks up her favorite quill and runs her fingers along its ebony colored feathers. “At least, I’m guessing so. They could also be dwarves—but I’m hoping for elves.”

“Getting homesick?” Aloth slipped a bookmark in his book, gently closing the book and resting his hands on its leather-bound cover. It dawned on him that for all their time together, Charlotte spoke very little about her life before the Dyrwood. All he really knew was that she was training to be a diplomat due to all the foreign trade that came in and out from the coasts of the Lands—hence her incredible ability to just talk her way out of any problem that crossed them.

“Heh, maybe a little.” Charlotte folded her arms across the table, propping her head against them. She looked up at Aloth, noticing how intently he was looking at her. “I haven’t been home in…maybe a decade? Our journey in the Dyrwood was like…two years, right?”

Aloth could see the gears working in her head as she desperately tried to recall their last journey together. He knew that with her soul in Eothas she lost part of her memories too, but he was pained to know that it was their journey together that seemed to have suffered the most loss. Their time together in the past was one of the most—no, no, _the_ most important period in his life; the idea of losing those memories himself were almost too much to bear. He found renewed sense and purpose in their time together; a person who wanted Aloth to stand by her side, to fight with her as equals, and so, so many other words of kindness and affection that he wishes he could just… _say_.

He felt like he owed Charlotte a debt—but no words ever felt like they could do him justice, and even when he could compile a cohesive thought in that head of his, it all just…melted at the sight of her. Just being in the room alone together brought him back to their time in the Card Nua library, reading and relaxing together. Aloth smiled at the memory, lost in his thoughts of times long passed.

 _‘Ought ta’ tell the lassie how you be really feelin’, lad.’_ Iselmyr decided to be polite and talk to Aloth in his mind, rather than talking out loud. He could feel the tip of his ears go read at the prospect, trying to hide to embarrassment from the rest of his face.

 _‘I…don’t exactly think now is the time for that.’_ He replied. Aloth felt a sharp pain in his head, as if Iselmyr reached out to pinch his cheek.

 _‘Dannae why I bother! Yer jus’ gonna sit here and oogle her—we be seein’ how yer feelin’ when that fishboy crawls in the lassie’s pants.’_ The idea of Tekehu trying to seduce the Watcher made Aloth _very_ uncomfortable, especially considering how very little shame that man had. He was the opposite of Charlotte, a prideful huana who’s every word was an inuendo, comment about himself, or a mixture of both. Aloth knew that Iselmyr was just saying that to rile him up, and boy was it working well.

“I guess it doesn’t matter- what I’m trying to say is that it’s been longer than I first thought.” Charlotte’s voice broke Aloth out of his mental haze (as it always does), causing him to jump slightly in the chair. She looked up at him, her eyes gently staring into his.

“You alright? I’m sorry if I’m keeping you up.” Her voice was as soft and sincere as always, only amplified by the exhaustion she was feeling. He felt his face flush with heat.

“Ah, yes, I’m fine. I’m pretty sure I can stay up for a bit longer.” Aloth smiled and raised an eyebrow. “You, however, look like you’re worse for wear.”

She laughed, leaning upright again. “Yes, I suppose…maybe I _should_ act like normal kith and try to get some sleep.” Charlotte rose from her chair and let out a small yawn. “You’re going to finally sleep too, yes?”

“Of course—I told you I wasn’t going to go to bed until you realized that you still very much need your sleep like the rest of us.” He stood up and tucked the grimoire underneath his arm and started for the door. Charlotte followed, a pout on her face.

“You can’t keep this up forever, you know.” Aloth let out a small laugh and opened the door for them both.

“Yes, I very much can, my dear Watcher.”

* * *

“Fejin hemkamür, sister!” A voice rang out from the cliff above them, waving and jumping around like an excitable dog. A smile formed on Charlotte’s lips as she returned the wave with equal energy. “Please make your way inside, Duskspeaker! Everyone will be so happy to see you!” The figure bolted into the village, screaming with excitement about Charlotte’s arrival. The Watcher bounced slightly in place, excitement flowing through her veins.

“Careful there, Captain. Wouldn’t want you bouncing so hard you rocket yourself into the air.” Maia said with a smirk, resting her elbow on Charlotte’s shoulder. Blood flowed through her cheeks from embarrassment, but her smile persisted- big and toothy and just _happy_.

“I know, I know…I’m just really, really excited! They probably aren’t from the same clan as me but…maybe some of them were from the Lands! Or maybe I’ll find a friend of a friend? Oh, I wonder if any of them can make battered ysae—oh what am I saying, of course they can!” She pressed her hands to her face, feeling the rush of excitement making her face tingle. “Ah, I can’t even think straight…”

Pallegina came forward and stood opposite of Maia, smiling at the Watcher when she saw how excited her face looked. “Maybe we should go into the village, ac? I think for once Maia has a point.” Her feathers ruffled slightly in the wind, light specks of snow scatted in and around her hair.

Charlotte apologized for dawdling and the team followed suit into the village. They were greeted by the looks and stares of a few dozen pale elves—a majority of which had their heads covered in thick hoods. The faces they could see looked at the Watcher in awe, some bowing, others uttering prayers as the group passed. She wasn’t sure what to say or how to react, so she simple smiled and waved to all as she passed.

“Man, they really love ya, huh, Charlotte?” Edér said, taking in the sight of people parting to the sides to make way for her as if she were a god. “Hopefully they don’t, uh, sacrifice any living kith in your name.”

“Well, these are Rymrgand worshippers, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they do attempt to sacrifice something to celebrate the coming of death…” She said it so nonchalantly, as if it were an everyday occurrence. Her friends gave her scattered reactions, ranging from skepticism, fear, a tiny hint of confusion, and bewilderment to top it all off.

They certainly had no idea about what awaited them in this unknown village as they made their way to the common house in the center of the village. As they made their way inside, they were hit with the comforting intensity of heat and a warm fire— something they were so grateful for. They made their way downstairs and into the basement where they were greeted by a pale elf in a brown poncho. He waved them down and urged them towards the hearth for warmth, something the group did gladly.

“Welcome, welcome! Please, huddle around the hearth—I just put some logs in.” He reached for the shelf behind him, making a few quick glances back at the group. He returned with individually wrapped robes and offered them to Charlotte and her companions. “Please, take these as a welcome gift for answering our invitation, Duskspeaker.”

“Oh, thank you so much—and you are?” Charlotte ran her hand across the robe- it was surpringly soft and cozy, her hand sinking into the cloth without much resistance. There was an auroch stitched into the front of the robe that seemed to be staring back at her though its empty abyssal sockets. She watched the rest of her companions put their robes on, content to finally be warm again.

“Harbinger Valbrendhur, at your service.” He gave a small bow. “If you’re looking for Vatnir, he’s currently in the middle of a service right now, it’s down the hall to your left. Don’t feel bad about interrupting, I’m sure they’d all be happy to see you, Duskspeaker.”

They crossed the hall into the church hall, the sounds of someone talking getting louder as they approached. The walls were thick and icy, with most notably a huge sculpture of an auroch decorated above where the speaker’s voice came from. Behind the speaker was a collection of candles and urns and other scattering of offerings that sparkled—most likely from a shimmering layer of ice from being in the cold.

“And why _shouldn’t_ we fear death? What offers death, save erasure?

Vatnir must’ve been a godlike; six sharply angled horns protruded from his head, and the team could sort of make our what looked like snow-white hair. His face was wrapped in strips of linen, dried and caked with what one could only assume is blood.

“A return to life cleaned of experience and understanding—Ignorant! Set to suffer again! To repeat our mistakes—endlessly. To fail. But the Beast would spare us this suffering; would offer us succor. _Mercy_.”

He turned his gaze to the Watcher, and three clusters of eyes stared at Charlotte and the team as they walked closer to where he stood. He stepped down from the podium and raised his hands to her, and the rest of the congregation followed his direction.

“The Duskspeaker arrives! Come, join our circle.” He exclaimed, a few members of the congregation clapping and muttering a small prayer to Charlotte.

“Ah, yes, you’re the one who invited us here?” She suddenly felt uncomfortable with all the eyes attached to her and was suddenly very hyperconscious of all the little fidgets and movements her body was making—even breathing felt…wrong.

“Yes, yes—I’m Vatnir. I revealed to you that which was revealed to me by the Beast.” He brings his arms up, preparing to sprout a praying to Rymrgand himself. “I present to you Charlotte—one of our own from the Lands, the Watcher of Caed Nua, mother of the Defiance Bay riots! In whose wake fell the hollowborn curse upon the Dyrwood!”

Everyone save Maia looked at Vatnir with wide eyes.

“Now, wait a minute—”

Vatnir opened his mouth again before Edér could intercept.

“She who dethroned Lord Raedric, Rightful Thayne of Gilded Vale, plunging the land into anarchy!”

“Actually, no Raedric was—” Aloth started, desperate to get a word in, but the cheers and the clapping of the congregation made it impossible to speak over Vatnir.

“And whose _very stone and soil_ gave rise to the great green giant that even now strides across the Deadfire!” Vatnir was speaking louder and stronger this time, his voice rising octaves as the other harbingers began to scream and shout in agreement with his words.

Charlotte was at a loss for words, standing there sheepishly (partially since it wasn’t like her to interrupt anyone).

It took a few minutes for the energy in the room to die down, Vatnir raising a hand to hush the crowd as their cheers become bowed hairs in murmured prayer. His clustered icy blue eyes returned their gaze to Charlotte.

“We are all blessed, and happy to see you, Duskspeaker. Now, if we may have the pleasure of your company, we’ve prepared a feast—at least by the standards of our humble means. Please, allow us to serve you.” He clapped his gloved hands together, seemingly signaling the end of the congregation.

Within seconds there was a mass exodus of harbingers out of the church, but a dozen or so hung around the Watcher, asking her questions and grabbing at her hands. A multitude of voices were vying for her attention, requests and comments and wishes all blending together; Charlotte was overwhelmed, not sure which poor soul to help first. Pallegina and Edér made their way to her, each reaching for one of the Watcher’s arms and pulling in close and defensively at her sides—the reaction from the lingering harbingers was immediate, stepping away from Charlotte and running out of the church. The Watcher let out a big sigh, thankful for their interception.

“Thank you both—I was worried I might’ve been swallowed up by their needs, haha.” She said, her body relaxing under the touch of her friends.

“Of course, Watcher. But please do take care next time.” Pallegina softened her grip on her arm but refused to let go—almost like he half expected someone to come and try that shit again.

“You _are_ allowed to say no to people; especially if they’re stopping you from getting food!” Edér gave a wide smile, shifting his hand from Charlotte’s elbow to her back, giving her a strong and fierce slap.

She was thankful Pallegina held her, lest she would have fallen flat on the floor.

* * *

The harbingers spared no expense at the feast, seating Charlotte and her friends at a long wooden table in front of a warm, fiery hearth. They brought our plates of brew battered ysae, and giant pots of seafood soup and shark soup. The dining hall was filled with the delicious scents of fish, hot spices and vegetables—the team hadn’t even begun eating and they were already filled with warmth and comfort just by looking at the food. Edér and Ishiza were staring at all the food with a violent intensity; eyes sparking and alight with energy, already planning out their methods of attacking and devouring all the food in front of them.

“Merla, where are we supposed to put all this food?” Pallegina stared at the shark soup in front of her, the delicious blends of paprika and cayenne wafting in the air in front of her and into her nose. It was almost difficult not to take her eyes off it—her golden eyes lit aflame when she noticed the big, fatty chunks of shark meat bobbing in the soup, glistening and looking mighty juicy from the broth it was swimming in. She knew exactly what she was going to eat first.

More food was brought out in the form of a large mountain of fluffy, white rice in an intricately decorated bowl, set aside next to Charlotte and her companions. It was a white bowl with dark, golden colored depiction of Rymrgand’s signature icon- an auroch, surrounded by what looks like snow covered mountains. Vatnir returned to the group with the bottle of the blackest liquid the team had ever seen, his hands gripping and holding the bottle as one would carry a newborn baby.

He walked up to Charlotte and showed her the bottle with a small bow. “Ekkevít.” He said. Charlotte’s eyes grew wide. “Ah, I see you recognize the drink of your people, Duskspeaker. We thought it would only be fitting to offer our best drinks to you.” He looked around her area at the table, his trio of eyes trying to find a cup amidst the platters.

“Oh, uh. I couldn’t possibly- I don’t drink alcohol.” She said, flustered. Seated next to her was Aloth, who looked at her with a slight bit of concern. Vatnir raised an eyebrow, his clustered eyes staring at her in confusion.

“Oh? Is that so, Duskspeaker? Surely even you must indulge in some of the finer drinks in life.” He grabbed the tankard closest to Charlotte and filled it with the mysterious black liquid. On closer inspection it was a thick, pink syrup as it flowed down the cup—but it seemed to coagulate into the black liquid that was in the original bottle. Vatnir motioned for Charlotte to drink, something she did with hesitation.

From the moment it reached her lips, she could feel the rise of goosebumps all throughout her body; warmth rising form her chest into all parts of her body. The liquid tasted earthy and dry- it wasn’t sweet in the slightest; her mouth tingled, and she could feel herself salivating _a lot_. She could only muster two gulps before she put the cup down, feeling the effects of the drink already. There was a small aftertaste a few seconds after- something spicy, but also sweet. Now that was an aftertaste she could get behind if she wasn’t already slowly swaying in her seat. Vatnir laughed, surprised by the Watcher’s reaction. Aloth gently placed his hands on Charlotte’s arms, trying to hold her steady.

Edér laughed from his seat next to Pallegina. “I didn’t think you were _that_ much of a lightweight, Charlotte.” He stuffed his mouth with a giant scoop of soup that he poured on top of his mound of rice—the broth had seeped into the rice, turning it a nice, glistening pink color.

Maia was enjoying the crunchy and fried ysae, the fish perfectly tender and juicy as she carefully tore it apart with her fork and knife. Her gaze was also on Charlotte, horribly surprised by the way she was reacting to the alcohol. “With all due respect Captain, this is what you get for drinking khapa tea all day.”

Vatnir took his leave and went around to the rest of the team, offering them a cup—Maia and Edér were more than happy to try the drink themselves. Pallegina and Aloth politely refused, suddenly worried that Charlotte might accidentally fall over in her seat. The Watcher shook her head, trying to relax and get her head back into working order. She looked over to Aloth, resting her hand on his own and trying to pry them off her (to very, little avail).

“I-I’m fine! Nothing a little food can’t h-help get out of my system.” She said with the straightest face possible (in this case, a big grin and half lidded eyes). Aloth looked straight in the eyes and knew that once again she was talking completely out of her ass, but did agree that maybe _some_ food could help absorb the alcohol before it snaps her conscious in two. He slowly dropped his hands from her sides and kept his eye on her to make sure she wouldn’t collapse without his support.

As they ate a few harbingers came in periodically made requests and prayers to Charlotte, some offering her gems (that she refused to take), handwritten letters, or in some more extreme cases asked for death to be swift and soon. Aloth and Pallegina took turns shooing and deflecting some harbingers away, insisting that Charlotte needed to get some rest from their long journey to their village. It was difficult at first since they wanted to eat themselves, but after a while it seemed like they started to get the picture, and after about an hour or so they were able to eat in relative peace and quiet.

It was nice, to have a moment to relax altogether like this.

* * *

“You didn’t have to walk me to my room—I think I could have done that myself…” Charlotte said, arms wrapped around Aloth’s left arm. Her face was aglow with the soft warmth of alcohol and comforting food, and a small hint of exhaustion. The feast was winding down for the evening, with most of the harbingers already off to bed, save for those that were helping to clean up with Vatnir. Charlotte insisted on helping, but the godlike continuously waved her off saying that the work was ‘beneath her’.

Maia and Edér had practically melted into a drunken state of existence, laughing and giggling like schoolchildren. They’d consume half the tables worth of food and more than enough alcohol to knock out a dragon twice over- the fact they hadn’t collapsed yet was a complete and utter mystery to Aloth. They planted their faces onto the table and kept making silly faces at each other, cracking nearly unintelligible jokes that somehow got them howling with laugher every time.

Pallegina requested that Aloth take Charlotte back to her room, insisting that she could handle Edér and Maia in their drunken state—she wasn’t a top ranking Vailian soldier for nothing, as she said.

So here Aloth was, leading the Watcher to their rooms in a private section of the common house. What started out with _his_ arm draped around her shoulder and leading her about, suddenly turned into _her_ arms wrapped around his. It was hard to tell if she was drunk or not- she was walking and talking somewhat fine—a little stumbles here and there, slurring the words a bit, but she wasn’t…completely out of it. It’s just not like Charlotte to be this physically close to anyone as she’s usually always very mindful of people’s personal space—especially Aloth’s.

But at this moment it was just them, walking along the halls with nothing but the faint sound of the cold wind brushing against the common house, and the occasional creaking of the lit lanterns.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all, I’m actually quite tired myself.” Aloth said, gently tapping her hands. They came to the partition that separated their “special” section off from the rest of the tenants, which was nothing more than an obnoxiously thick piece of black cloth. The corridor that led to their rooms was very well kept, no mounds of snow or dust anywhere. Charlotte’s room was the last room at the end of the corridor, an ornate wreath with a plethora of Berath’s Bells and roses decorated around it. Aloth frowned as he looked at it.

“Aren’t these…poisonous?”

“They are, but only if you eat them." She had half the mind to touch it, but she resisted the temptation. Charlotte wasn’t too particularly fond of having another method for Berath to keep an eye on her, but at least the flowers were a beautiful, soothing blue color. “They seem really well kept…like, look at this color. It’s so vibrant.”

“Putting those druid skills to work, I see.” He moved closer to the flowers, noticing their vibrant hue—they certainly didn’t look like the ones that he’d seen out in the wild.

“Hey, being a druid means I can tell when a plant is all like…poisonous and stuff.” Charlotte put her hands on her hips and gave him a smile, slowly opening the door to her room and took a step into the room. She was so, so thankful to be inching ever so closer to a bed and to sleep the long journey here away. The Watcher turned back to face Aloth, who was leaning against the doorway.

“Thank you for, uh, walking me to my room.” She held the door in place, running her fingers along the doorknob.

“Of course, I’m always happy to help. Especially with all the alcohol you consumed.” Aloth’s eyes fell to her mouth, watching it form into a small pout.

“Hey, that was basically half a dozen cups worth! It was…really thick liquid—you should be proud I swallowed all of it.” Her friend snorted and laugh at the sentence; it took Charlotte a few seconds to realize the hidden meaning in her words, giving Aloth a playful punch on the shoulder. He threw his hands up, playfully surrendering to her.

“My apologies, Watcher, but you kind of walked into that one.” Aloth said so very matter-of-factly, knowing that it probably wasn’t very nice to tease Charlotte when she was inebriated like this—but he just couldn’t help it.

Another silence fell between them, and they stood there for a few more minutes; Charlotte moved her hands from the doorknob to her hair, running her hands through them as she always did when she had nothing else to do with her hands. Aloth stared at her hands as they moved, eyes following her fingers as they worked through her hair; watching the way the strands danced and curled around her skin—it was mesmerizing, really.

“I really need to cut my hair…” She muttered, probably not intending for Aloth to hear.

“You’ve been saying that for about 5 months now.” His eyes flickered to her face for a moment, meeting her gaze. “But admittedly, I’ve grown quite fond of your hair as it is—it suits you.” Her eyes widened a little.

“You really think so?”

“Yes, I do.” He crossed his arms and adjusted his lean against the door, standing up a bit more now. “I think you look cuter, actually.”

“Oh.”

There was a moment of awkward silence that hung in the air until Aloth realized just what kind of words had the _audacity_ to escape from his lips. He could feel the blood rush and spread all over his face—what on earth possessed him to say that to her? He could feel Iselmyr’s laugh in his head, half wondering if she put those words in his mouth or if he had an absentminded thought that just…blurted itself out of his mouth.

Charlotte’s face was equally red at least, so he took some comfort in that. It felt like he might’ve overstayed his welcome and cleared his throat, trying to calm himself and the rush of nervousness in his body.

“I, uh, think I’ll be going now—” He turned to leave, eager and excited to stare at his ceiling all night and have Iselmyr bother him all night for not being more courageous.

“W-wait!” Charlotte’s hands reached out to his, both reaching out and clamping hold of him as he made his way out. The sudden contact nearly knocked Aloth’s heart out of his chest—her fingers were as soft and warm as he’d expect them to be, despite the cold environment that they were in. He wondered if it was a coincidence that they just felt so right in his hands, like if they were meant to be held by him and no one else—

 _‘What on earth am I thinking.’_ His head was aflame with wild, untamed thoughts when she had him like this. Her cyan eyes looked into his, alit with some warm intensity he’s never seen her give anyone before. It was hard to tell if it was from the alcohol or some actual, genuine emotion that’s Aloth’s never seen before. He felt his body flare up with more warmth, he felt like he was shaking from the violent mixture of excitement and fear, but his hand remained perfectly still in hers.

 _‘Ah, enjoy yerself lad—ought to sweet talk her now!’_ Of all the times Iselmyr had to show up. Charlotte looked as though she was steeling herself for whatever was going to come out of her mouth.

“I—um! Wanted to thank you, you’re…you’re just always so nice to me and stuff…” It was very unlike Charlotte to stammer and talk like this; Aloth never thought that she was capable of tripping over her words like this. “And even now you…you walked me to my room and I just…um…” He wondered if she could hear the crashing of his heart against his chest. Iselmyr was _cackling_ like mad in his head, and it was hard to form a coherent thought when every sense in his body felt like it was slowly systemically shutting down at every second.

“Y-you don’t have to thank me, Watcher, really— “

It took all of five seconds for him to register her lips pressed against his. It was awkward and tense, as if she had no idea how to properly kiss him, or maybe she just made a move that not even _she_ was prepared for. Aloth sure as hell didn’t expect this. He expected to be in bed right now, running his fingers across the pages of his grimoire as he did every night, a monotonous venture he performed every night in the privacy and safety of his room. He had a routine, felt safety in the constant routine that his life had started to fall into when they weren’t off exploring.

But not now, no, no. Now his hands rested on her hips, his whole body hummed with heat and anticipation as they were pressed together against the door to her room. He tilted his head and leaned into her, lips eager and yearning for her; she responds in kind, body relaxed as an excited moan escapes her mouth. The Watcher bunches her hands into his hair, pulling and bunching up his perfectly combed black hair, trembling, losing herself to the moment. She feels looser in his hands, and Aloth was sure the second he lets her go she would crumble into nothing—which is _exactly_ how he felt in this moment.

Her tongue gently scrapes across his lips and he returns the favor, gently nibbling and sucking her bottom lip as another moan escapes her; she uttered his name like a prayer, want and desire coursing through every little hitch her voice made.

They part for only a moment for air—something Aloth regrets is something that kith must do. He pressed his forehead, desperately trying to catch his breath. “C-Charlotte…”. His body is aflame with want and desire, desperate to hold her and touch her and just hold her oh so close.

“W-was that…too sudden…?” Her voice was low and hoarse, lips swollen from the barrage of affection he showered her with. For a moment he couldn’t come up with an answer, eyes too focused on her and how badly he wanted to kiss her again. He opened his mouth to answer—

There was something that sounded like a very, very drunk Edér laughing and singing that was approaching them, and the stern voice of Pallegina that was desperately trying to reign him in. Charlotte and Aloth fumbled out of each other’s embrace, running their hands across their clothes as they desperately tried to relax themselves and look as normal as possible before Pallegina arrived at their section in the building.

Edér somehow fumbled his way through the partition curtain after taking about two minutes being stuck and absolutely _amazed_ by how soft and thick the texture was. His eyes were half lid, face glued with the most ridiculous smile that only drunken kith could make. He stumbled towards Charlotte and gave her the biggest bear hug he could muster, arms wrapped tightly around her tiny elf body.

“Charlieeeee!” He slurred, crushing the poor girl in his arms.

“Edér, per complanca, put the Watcher down.” Pallegina followed shortly after, with a certain Maia draped over her shoulder and sleeping like a baby. Ishiza followed closely behind, looking equally as tired and more round. The godlike reached Maia’s room and entered, putting the aumaua into bed as Ishi made himself comfortable on the floor.

Edér was still glued to the Watcher, except now he had the courtesy to loosen his grip and put her down.

“But, Pallegina…Charlie…Charlotte is so cool…” He bumped his head against hers—Charlotte assumed this was meant to be a cute gesture, but instead turned into a clobber against her head. She was most certainly not prepared for that. “I love her…she’s my friend…”. For a brief moment Aloth had a small flicker of jealousy in his eyes, but that was quickly washed away when he realized that Edér was dense as stone (and of course drunk), and whatever thought left his mouth was…probably not meant to be taken seriously. But even so, the words still...stun, somehow.

Pallegina sighed, smiling and gently prying Edér off Charlotte. “Ac, we all love the Watcher—now, go to bed.” Edér made a noise of defeat and stumbled to where his room was, fumbling with the door knob as if he’s never seen one before; it took him a moment to realize what magic awaits when one _rotates_ the handle: the door opens. And with that he closed the door behind him. Pallegina’s golden eyes turned back to Charlotte and Aloth, confused by the fact they were still awake.

“I’m surprised you’re both still up.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, golden eyes looking between the two for answers. As always, Aloth was thankful the Watcher spoke up.

“Ah, sorry Pallegina. We just got caught up in talking for a bit.” She folded her hands together, trying not to give away anything in her voice. The godlike turned to look at Aloth, who was too busy looking at everything but her. Between the Watcher being a horrible liar and Aloth acting fidgety, she suspected something was up—but decided that maybe now would not be the time to handle that as she was starting to get sleepy. She rustled her hair, her blue-green feathers gently bouncing as her hair moved.

“Di verus? Well, I suppose if anyone could spend two hours passing the time talking, it would be you two.” She gave a small yawn as she made her way to her room, conveniently located right next to Charlotte’s room. “Well, goodnight you two.”

The closing of Pallegina’s door meant that the two remaining kith could _finally_ breathe easy now; they both let out a collective sigh of relief, followed by a small laugh. They stood around again in silence for a few minutes, both trying to digest everything that happened that evening. Aloth wanted so badly to hold her hand again, to feel her body pressed against his—but the words were failing him again.

“I think we should probably go to bed.” Charlotte said, breaking the silence and looking back at Aloth. He opened his mouth to say something to dissuade her from that but went against it (despite Iselmyr pecking at him again).

“That’s probably a good idea. We’ve both had a long day.” He reached out his hand and placed it on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze of affection. She returned the gesture with her own gentle smile—he resisted every urge in his body to lean down to kiss her again (and that took _all_ his effort).

“Have a goodnight, Aloth.” The way Charlotte said his name suddenly felt so much more heartwarming now, his chest a flutter with warmth and emotion once more.

“Goodnight, Charlotte.” He could see a blush run across her face, her lips curling into a knowing, excited smile. She gently closed the door, leaving Aloth alone in the hallway—smiling and filled with a warm sensation in his chest that kept his heart beating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me a bit to get this chapter out, I was absolutely wracking my brain with figuring out what to do and how to write this. I knew I wanted to tackle the Beast of Winter sooner rather than later as it was always my first dlc, and I think it would be nice to touch upon Charlotte's backstory a little since she's from the White that Wends. It was fun getting all the neat interactions with everyone cause she was a pale elf in the game! Expect maybe one or two more chapters featuring the events in this DLC!
> 
> Also once again broke from the narrative since it's such a shame you don't get to see the feast Vatnir and the Harbingers talk about, cause I bet it would have been awesome! Who doesn't love mountains of food in front of them?
> 
> I've never written a romance in writing before—I usually draw instead of write, so hopefully it doesn't sound too over the top. Hopefully I can get more practice in soon! I knew eventually romance was gonna pop in, so a little taste of future chapters I suppose? Might have to raise that rating to mature now, haha.
> 
> Hope everyone had a great weekend!


	6. Offering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unforeseen interruption has Charlotte and her companions facing off against an unexpected enemy— one that they were completely unprepared for.

Ishiza was bonking his head repeatedly on Maia, desperately trying to wake her up from the comforts of the bed. She was too tired, too hung over from all the food and alcohol that was consumed at the feast to really _want_ to get out of bed; she figured if Charlotte was really annoyed by her oversleeping, someone would have knocked on her door by now. Her eyes fluttered open, green eyes slowly scanning the room—Maia certainly didn’t recall walking here, in fact her last memories of last night was sitting next to Edér and drinking that fancy alcohol that godlike had. Maybe she’d be able to convince him to give her a bottle to take back on the ship…

She slowly rose from the bed, propping herself up on her elbows and wincing at the sudden rise of the of a headache creeping up her spine. Whatever energy she had for getting up slowly left her body and she found herself slinking back into bed. Her trusty bird companion wasn’t having any of that (seemingly oblivious to the concept of hangovers) and returned to gently nibbling at Maia’s skull—much to her dismay. Maia lifted a weary hand towards Ishiza, giving him a gentle pat and rub down his back. She laid there awake in bed for a few more minutes, trying to gather the energy and strength in her body to potentially get up and be productive.

There was a knock at her door and Maia slowly stumbled over to it.

 _‘I guess that’s the Captain making sure I’m still alive…’_ Her thoughts were somewhat coherent despite the violent slam of pain in her head. She reached for the doorknob and opened it gently, eyes opening wide in surprise as she realized Pallegina was at her door. It took a moment for a cohesive thought to process in her head as she stood there stammering and trying to wake herself up. Pallegina decided to take initiative and speak up before they ended up standing there for too long.

“Good morning, Maia.” That was enough of a starter to get Maia’s brain working.

“Uh, good morning. Did the Captain put you up to this?”

Pallegina’s squinted at Maia, confused by her statement. “No. I assumed you’d want to eat breakfast.”

Breakfast was always welcomed in Maia’s eyes; something hearty and delicious would be the perfect solution to a hangover—maybe even some murkbrew to help caffeinate herself too.

“That, that sounds perfect—thank you.” She looked into the hallway and noticed the lack of company. “Where’s…everyone else?”

“Aloth is getting dressed, and the Watcher was asked by Vatnir to speak in front of the churchgoers.” She rolled her eyes to punctuate that statement. “And Edér is still sleeping. I tried to wake him up, but per complanca, I think he’s snoring so loud he cannot hear me.”

“Is his door locked?” Pallegina moved two doors down and jiggled the doorknob to Edér’s room—the lock hitching against the door repeatedly. “I can probably pick that lock, you know.” Despite herself, Pallegina laughed.

“That would be most appreciated, Maia.”

They made their way to the dining hall that held their feast last night, harbingers preparing the table for them once more. Aloth and Pallegina offered to help set the table, but once again the harbingers insisted that they relax and let them take care of everything. Edér took the opportunity to lay his head onto the table and close his eyes, the weight of the hangover seemingly hitting him harder than it hit Maia. He nearly jumped at the small _clunk_ of the harbingers placing bowls and plates near him; Maia gave him a nudge in the sides with her elbow, equally as pained but seemingly taking it better than him.

“Don’t worry, once the food rolls in you’ll be feeling a lot better.”

“Man, I hope so, I’m starting to realize I’m not as young as I think I am…” Edér ran his hand through his messy blonde hair, eyes heavy from exhaustion.

But thankfully he would soon be put out his misery, as a few minutes later the food began arriving to everyone’s delight—more bowls filled with porridge, plates of fried fish filets, eggs, and a colorful assortment of fruit were neatly arranged in front of them. Maia and Edér’s eyes lit with excitement and happiness at the sight of the delicious food, eagerly excited to get started of ridding their head of the pain they were experiencing. The harbingers also brought out two jugs of murkbrew, the hangover duo eying both of them like hawks waiting to swoop into prey.

As they began to eat Vatnir and Charlotte finally arrived, flocked by a few pale elves who were all talking to Charlotte, her back turned to the group as she strode in backwards. A slight frown emerged collectively on her companion’s faces as they watched a small cluster of pale elves reach for all parts of their Watcher and stepping _really_ into her comfort zone. But of course, she wasn’t one to say no to someone and their plights and was apparently more than happy to offer succor and prayers to those who needed it. After a few minutes Vatnir was kind enough to shoo the harbingers away to let Charlotte rest and eat, much to the dismay of those that followed. They both approached the table and sat down, Vatnir at the edge next to Edér, and Charlotte between Aloth and Pallegina.

“How kind of you to join us, Watcher.” Pallegina said, smiling at the Watcher as she sat down. Her golden eyes noticed that Aloth and her were sitting awfully close to each other; she recalled the events of last night but decided to not say anything for now.

“Ah yes, sorry about that…” She replied, prepping her plate with eggs and fish. “The congregation was just _really_ excited to see me and kind of…kept me occupied for a bit there.”

“Well, best eat up then—going to need to get your energy back.” Maia and Edér were certainly in mind of Pallegina’s words, literally vacuuming the food into their mouths as if their lives depended on it—it was a start contrast to the way that the rest of the group was eating (that is, minding that choking is still a hazard to them as kith).

After a few moments of relaxing over breakfast, there was a sudden guest to the dining hall—a harbinger has stormed in, going over to Vatnir with wide, shocked eyes. The godlike rested his hands on the poor pale elf, trying to calm him down. The elf was filled with such vigor and excitement, the team was worried he might suddenly combust from the energy flowing through his veins.

“Vatnir! It’s back! I-it’s come back!” The elf said; Vatnir’s trio of eyes focused into the elf’s eyes before a switch flipped into his brain as there was a sudden wide-eyed look to him. The elf then let go of Vatnir to shake Charlotte’s shoulders, excitement and joy in his voice.

“Thank you, Duskspeaker! I knew you would bring us a quick death!” He turned and ran back through the hallway, shouting and screaming with joy and excitement. The team was left severely confused, looking back to Vatnir for clarification on just what on earth was happening. The godlike was stammering his words, unable to form a cohesive thought; when it looked like he had it in him to finally speak, a large tremor rippled through the building, everything shaking from the force of the tremor.

“W-what is going on…!?” Edér said, gripping the table for support. For the brief moment that the tremors seemed to still, the Watcher and her companions leaped from the table and ran outside, desperately trying to seek out answers to what was going on. Vatnir stayed behind, his hands reaching and gripping his head; he was terrified and shook in place as the tremors returned with a vengeance.

* * *

The team rushed outside with a cluster of other harbingers, nearly being toppled over by the sheer excitement and energy the inhabitants had over the potential of being slaughtered—at least, that’s what it seemed like from that elf’s words from earlier. They somehow squeezed through the door and into the cold, snowy wastes of Harbinger’s Watch. Maia ordered Ishiza upward, getting him to circle around the area as they ran into the village’s center. There was a crowd of people already at the center—some praying, others cheering on and on their knees, begging and awaiting _something_ that the team couldn’t see. They frantically looked around, not seeing anything other than the crowd of people around them.

Then the tremor started again—a low, growl echoed from the earth; a signal of something approaching. The shocks grew more and more intense, the intensity matched by the cheers of the harbingers all around Charlotte and her companions. A shadow loomed and circled around them; Maia shielded her eyes and focused her gaze, trying to make out the figure above them. The brightness of the snow shined in her eye from the bounce of the sun’s obnoxious rays of light, so it was hard to tell what it was at first. Her green eyes locked into the shadow as it circled the island and approached the center—it looked like…a bird? No, no, its wingspan was too large, the tail was too…pointed. Could it possibly be…

 _‘A dragon…?’_ The thought dawned on her suddenly, eyes shaking and flickering as the creature stilled in the air, it’s body in front of the sun and casting a menacing shade on the little village.

It took all of five seconds for her to realize the severity of the moment as she motioned and yelled for all of them to move _now_. Charlotte reached out to nearby harbingers, trying to get them to run away from the center, hoping to save them from their deaths—but they refused. They raised their arms high and prayed with fervor and excitement. They were ready, they were willing; they waited for this moment all their lives and no Duskspeaker was going to stop them from encroaching upon death when they were this close. Edér and Pallegina pried Charlotte from her spot, dragging her away from the harbingers to reach safety—she resisted their grip, trying to go back to at least pry one of them to safety with them; the idea of leaving them behind to their death was too much to bear.

Especially when she was right in front of them.

The creature descended upon the village, its body a decaying carcass of flesh; its vessel filled with gashes and grey from years gone by. It made impact on the glacier, crushing a multitude of bodies with a wet crunch—bones and joints snapping under the weight of the dragon mingled with the screams of agony and pain. Harbingers flocked to it, moans of pain and sadness filled the air of those who were so desperate to die that they’d willingly throw themselves at the beast for death’s release. The Watcher and her team watched in disgust and horror as the dragon rendered flesh and bone, gore and blood staining the pure white snow around them. It consumed the bodies of various harbingers, sharp teeth tearing apart the bodies with a wet crunch, tossing the kith into its gaping maw. The scene filled Charlotte with rage, her whole body shaking under the tight grip of Edér and Pallegina, who were so desperate to keep her out of harm’s way.

The dragon turned to look at the team, eyes curious (and still oh so hungry)—its nostrils flared as it took slow, heavy steps towards them, dragging along with it the corpses and the blood of the fallen harbingers around it. The team drew their weapons, and once Edér and Pallegina let their guard down Charlotte charged into the fray, eyes ablaze in anger and ready to take her anger out on the dragon that lay before them. Her friends barely had time to react, chasing after her as quickly as they could.

The dragon smiled at the audacity of the Watcher and roared with fervor, a loud hungry shriek that rang through Charlotte’s eardrums. She flinched for a moment, the noise catching her off guard—enough time for the dragon to swipe its claws at her; the force of the slam sent her flying, a violent tremor vibrating into her body as she skidded across the snow. Were it not for the blanket of snow that covered the ground to soften her blow, she was sure that she would have broken every bone inside her. Her entire left side felt sore and limp, the hit like crashing headfirst into a brick wall. Charlotte could have sworn she heard someone scream her name (was it Pallegina? Edér? Aloth? Maia? Who was calling for her?) but lacked the energy to turn her head, let alone open her eyes.

Her energy faded her fast, and she could feel her body drift off into sleep, desperate for rest from that sucker punch she took to the face. The Water found herself giving into the feeling, closing her eyes despite everything in her body telling her to wake up; _‘Your friends need you!’_ the voice rang in her head—but she was powerless, and she could feel her eyelids get heavy with every second.

In retrospect, _maybe_ running headfirst towards a dangerous unknown foe without the support of her friends was a bad idea; just maybe.

Charlotte heard someone approaching her, but she lacked the energy to move her body at all and she prayed whoever that was wouldn’t put her out of her misery. Thankfully she was right—Maia looked down at her with the angriest scowl she’s ever seen, the aumaua getting down on her knees to tend to her captain.

“That was absolutely the stupidest thing I think I’ve ever seen anyone do.” She muttered, propping the Watcher up and quickly over her shoulder. The momentum of movement wasn’t quite catching up with Charlotte, and a dizzy spell washed over her immediately. Shifting from the floor to the air to the comfort of Maia’s warm body was too much for the poor elf, and she found herself nearly passing out from the shuffle. Ishiza flew above them and ensured the dragon doesn’t reach them, pecking at it with his sharp talons and beak like an annoying fly.

Maia yelled back to the rest of the team who were busy with the dragon creature- a giant claw came down upon Edér, who managed to react in time with the large shield he had. Nails skidded across the metal surface with a near ear splitting noise, the dragon desperately digging it’s claws deeper into the surface of the shield; Edér dropped to a knee and lifted the shield up, desperately trying to stand his ground. Pallegina swooped in, her sword lit with a brilliant blue flame as she pierced the dragon’s legs, sending it down to the grown with a screech. Using the moment of the fall, Edér pushed back and into the dragon, the satisfying crack of an arm staggering the beast onto it’s back as it writhed in pain. Its howl was nearly ear shattering, but Aloth focused his power and energy into the biggest fireball he could muster towards the dragon; the force of it knocked the dragon as it did the Watcher. It skidded across the icy terrain before tumbling and falling over the edge and into the icy cold ocean; a large splash followed in its crash.

Edér and Pallegina slowly made their way to the edge of the platform, eyes staring intently into the water for the creature to rise—and thankfully it didn’t seem to. They both let out a sigh of relief, high fiving each other for their quick work.

They returned to Maia, who propped Charlotte up against a wall, her arms holding her captain safely. The Watcher’s gaze momentarily focused to the dozens of bodies behind them, vessels of flesh and gore splattered and smeared across the snow and ice. Her eyes were transfixed on the area, glazing over as she watched for souls and for their calls of help and desperation—a call she can never ignore, no matter how hard she tried to. She’s pulled into the world softly and with a gently guiding hand at her own pace, at other times it’s like a violent storm that amasses the most powerful of waves to crash and overwhelm her—voices and people begging for her light to take them to salvation. Something she wishes she could do for everyone, something that’s become her life mission since she Awakened all those years ago. Aloth recognized that look and stood in front of the Watcher’s gaze, that dazed “far away” look in her eyes slowly washing away; she blinked a few times, slowly coming back to the living world.

They wanted to scold her so badly—to ask her _why_ she did what she did, but deep down they all knew the answer. _‘She’s too kind’_ , _‘She isn’t one to stand by and watch people suffer’_ , _‘She’d hates to watch the suffering of others’_ —millions of thoughts and reasons coexisted together as they looked at their Watcher standing there looking as tired and pensive as ever. There was an awkward, knowing silence in as they stood there, huddled around Charlotte, eyes closed and relaxed in Maia’s embrace.

“You…could have died there, you know.” Edér broke the silence, but by look on his face it was obvious he regretted those words the second they left his mouth. Charlotte slowly opened her eyes and adjusted her posture, sucking in her breath as stood straight. The pain was still rising up and through her spine, but at least now she felt able to actually potentially function like a human being. She looked away, not wanting to answer Edér’s question because she knew what she had done and was fortunate enough to just come out of this with just bruises (or rather, an entire _side_ of her body that would turn into one giant bruise).

Pallegina crossed her arms and looked at Charlotte, golden eyes focused on her face. “Ac—if we did not react as fast as we did, you could have been in grave danger.” Her words are stiff and unsure, filled with the desire to scold but to nurture as well. The Watcher’s eyes darted between Pallegina and Edér, her cyan eyes meeting the eyes of her worried companion’s gazes. She looks down again, trying to compose her thoughts.

“I don’t know, I just…kind of reacted on instinct.” She let go of Maia, trying to steady herself on her own (with Maia’s arms still close by- just in case). “I hate just…standing by and not being able to help these people, even if death is what they wanted.”

“But you’d be even more useless to them if you were dead.” Aloth’s words were harsh, but true; his arms were folded, and he was biting on his knuckles. His words felt heavier on Charlotte’s heart considering the events that took place last night. “I’d hate to say it but…it was really stupid of you to rush in like that.”

“He’s got a point, Captain.” Maia put her hands on her hips. “Now, I don’t know what you guys did back in the Dyrwood, but I don’t think you guys were hunting dragons on the daily. A ship without a captain to support it doesn’t last very long.” Everyone’s words were in her thoughts, and she wasn’t sure how to respond or react. All she knew was that she was that they were completely and utterly right—her kindness got the best of her again, and could have nearly been the death of her. There were too many people who depended on Charlotte for her to just…toss her life into danger like that. Her head started to hurt from the overthinking she was doing, and just wanted to get back and near the warmth of a fire.

Pallegina stepped closer to the Watcher and rested a hand on her shoulder, guiding her and the rest of the team back towards the common house. As they made their way up the hill, a dozen harbingers were seen near the entrance, all dismayed at the scene that unfolded them—some sad that they did not die, others turning to look at Charlotte and her team in confusion as they approached.

“Sure as hell feels like we’ve been left in the dark about something huh, Captain?” Maia made a snide comment as they entered the house and made their way downstairs towards the dining hall.

“Yes, you’re right.” Charlotte slipped out of Pallegina’s hand and ran forward a few feet before turning back to the rest of the group. “And I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”

* * *

“Maybe you should rest—”

“No, Aloth, I’m fine.” Charlotte was determined to find Vatnir and wasn’t going to rest until that happened; he certainly didn’t mention _dragons_ in his missive, and that’s kind of a big thing to not mention! While Maia, Pallegina and Edér were helping with the burying of the (pieces of) bodies from the dragon’s attack, Aloth decided to follow the Watcher to confront Vatnir about all this. But in truth the wizard was dead set on _desperately_ getting the Watcher to relax after being flung half a mile—but there was never any stopping Charlotte when she had something important to do. He kept up with her fast pace, his voice pleading with every word he said.

“Will you at least rest after you speak with Vatnir?” 

“Yes, yes, I will.” The words came out too quickly to really be a promise she’ll commit to. Aloth eyed her suspiciously but couldn’t bring himself to say anything to challenge that promise.

They finally arrived to Vatnir’s room, or rather, to the large empty space that was supposedly his room. There was nothing more than a few barrels in each of the four corners of the room, and the usual icy walls that surrounded them—if this was the godlike’s room, Charlotte was very concerned about his wellbeing. She turned her head to the skeletal head of an auroch on the wall to her right. She stared at it intently, trying to find something in it that might lead them to Vatnir, but couldn’t make anything out from it. Aloth must’ve noticed something first; he moved closer to the jaw and ran his fingers around its eye cavity, peering into it. He reached his hand in, his fingers coming across the handle of something that felt like a lever—and with a determined grunt, he managed to flick the lever down. Charlotte widened her eyes in surprise.

“I suppose all those years reading books in the dark helped with my eyesight.” He said. Charlotte gave out a small chuckle at the comment, Aloth put at ease that at least she wasn’t in a complete foul mood.

The wall to their north made a hollow _thunk_ sound, the sounds of gears moving and working, bringing the wall down into the ground. Behind the wall was the lovely little godlike they were looking for, who had turned around after being frightened by the sudden sound of the wall coming down. Icy blue eyes flickered between Aloth and Charlotte, obviously not anticipating for them to be there. Vatnir gave a shaky wave to Charlotte as she strode over to him with an incredibly tense look on her face. She was teetering on the edge of his comfort zone, the once calm and collected gaze now turned into one of intense scrutiny and anger. Aloth was close behind, fingers tented in front of him as he kept his eyes on the Watcher (not that he could react in time to stop her—that was Edér and Pallegina’s job).

“H-hello Duskspeaker…!” Vatnir said, clasping gloved hands together as if he was excited to see Charlotte with murderous intent on her face.

“You have a lot of explaining to do, Vatnir. You’ll be happy to know we killed that dragon outside.” No hesitation in her voice- straight and to the point; the severity of her words hit the poor godlike like a brick, and he found himself even more stressed then he originally was.

“You, you _killed_ it?” Charlotte gave a small nod to his question, not wanting to repeat herself. “That’s…that’s good. That it’s dead. It’s been harrying the area now, w-well for years. But people keep coming. And it keeps…eating.” His trio of eyes looked at Charlotte, hoping the answer was good enough for her.

“Is…that why you called me here? Why not just tell me in the missive…?”

“Well, I mean, I’ve heard the stories about you—about your accomplishments and all the things you’ve done in the Dyrwood!” He picked at the robe he was wearing, hands constantly shaking from nervousness. “I knew you were a kind person…but I couldn’t just mention that I needed you to destroy a dangerous beast that I barely know anything about. All I know is that each time it comes and eats, the ice spreads further. I…I didn’t know how to end it…

“What can you tell me about the creature?” The Watchers cyan eyes stared directly into his cluster of eyes. Vatnir answered with an exacerbated sigh.

“I don’t know _what_ to tell you. It’s a dragon—or looks like one. It’s also rotten enough that linking it to the god of decay seemed reasonable. I assumed that it’s either a pet of the Beast of Winter or something worse.”

Charlotte pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling the weight of exhaustion climbing up her spine. She pushed back the need to sleep and continued questioning Vatnir.

“Do you know why the ice spreads, by any chance?”

“I don’t _know_.” Vatnir sighed, sitting down on the chair by his desk. Charlotte suddenly realized this man certainly didn’t know much about the situation they were in, and that made her very nervous. “It might…have something to do with the Vytmádh—”

“The Vytmádh?” Charlotte’s eyes widened at what Vatnir just said to her. “That’s a passage to the Beast of Winter’s realms. Are you sure this is in the island?”

Vatnir shrugged. “So the stories say—none who have gone in have ever returned to confirm it. That’s the only explanation I have for the ever-expanding ice. There’s this old temple that lies underneath the village—it’s from a long time ago I believe. We don’t really know what’s inside there other than somehow this block of ice formed around it…so it’s possible that the longer it remains open, the more the Watch will expand.”

“How do we get to this temple, then?” Aloth spoke for the first time since entering, sensing Charlotte’s exhaustion from where he stood. Vatnir’s trio of eyes turned to look at Aloth, thankful to be looking away from the Watcher’s intense gaze.

“You’ll need to climb the cliff overlooking Harbinger’s Watch. That’s the only way we know how to enter—here, these should help.” He turns around to a check the chest near his desk and protrudes a pair of ice picks, gently passing them to Aloth. Despite the wounds of leather against it’s base, it felt sturdy and looked well kept and clean.

“We’ll take care of this, Vatnir.” Charlotte said, eyeing the ice picks.

“Thank you, Charlotte.” It was the first time Vatnir called her by her name- it caught the Watcher a little off guard. “Please do be careful.”

They made their way out of Vatnir’s room and into the main room of the common house—their friends were nowhere to be found, so Charlotte decided to start making her way back upstairs. Aloth reached for her arm, causing the Watcher to quirk an eyebrow up at him.

“I do believe you said you’d rest after speaking for Vatnir.”

Charlotte groaned—of course she did.

“I did.”

“So, you should rest before we make our way up and into another lovely adventures _that will certainly involve the gods_.” He gently grabbed her shoulders and rotated her towards the hall that led to their rooms.

“B-but I want to check up on the rest of the team—”

“You can see them _after_ _you relax_. Truly, I don’t think they’ll fault you for closing your eyes for a few minutes.” He could feel her shoulder tense at that word; _relax_. That wasn’t a word in Charlotte’s dictionary! And even if it was, it was meant for everyone else but her. Aloth could hear the small groan escape from her mouth as he guided her back to their rooms, desperate to make sure she took at least a few minutes to sleep-- someone had to watch after her, and Aloth was more than happy to let that be his job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School is back in session which means that there might be some more delays in getting chapters out. But that said, the end of the semester is next Friday, then it's winter break! Super excited about that. Got one final project I gotta do for the last day, so hopefully it doesn't take too long.
> 
> The Beast of Winter dlc is quite a doozy, and I took a few liberties as always, but next chapter will be the final chapter I think. Worst case scenario there's a small chapter after the next to wrap things up, but I'd rather go on to some more different adventures. I got a few ideas that don't happen in the canon to do, so I'll have to work on those to see the feasibility of 'em.
> 
> Tried my hand at fighting scene- it was a bit short I'd admit, but it's never been something I ever focused on much. Hopefully the next few chapters I can work on that a bit more! Also, chapter summaries are so hard man. Kudos to people who can make them look good.
> 
> Anyway, hope everyone's having a happy rest of their day! Thank you as always for reading.


	7. Dominion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte and her companions make a deal with the god of death and descend into his icy realm. This can't possibly go wrong, can it?

The air was frigid, cold—it pricked at the skin of the group as they made their march through the temple that hid deep underneath the caves of the Harbinger’s Watch. Down frozen slopes and through caves, avoiding traps and stalactites and stalagmites, the Watcher and her team made their way deeper and deeper in the cavern as they try to find the cause of the ice and that _dragon_ —or the “Messenger” as the harbingers had called it _._ They underestimated just how large this place was, but with no one ever making their way back alive, how could they really know? They were grateful for Charlotte’s expertise in navigating the cold, otherwise there would have been a lot more tripping and slipping on ice. Vatnir also forgot to tell them just how many _traps_ there would be on the ground—but thankfully Maia’s intense, ever watchful gaze managed to catch those and remove them with ease.

It took them the better of the day to make it to a long spiraling cave, filled with the noise of violent gusts of wind at the end to meet the team—much to their dismay. They walked deeper into the maw of the cave, at the end they were met with a swirling vortex, adorned with a frame of ice and stone; a solitary vigil that marked the end of their time in the temple. It swirled with energy and a bright light, nearly blinding the team as they approached it. And in front was the dragon, prone and gripping the icy floor with its jagged claws as it desperately tried to resist the pull of the portal behind it. It let out a deafening roar as it was swallowed up by the portal behind it, vanishing from this realm and into wherever the gate led to.

Silence filled the air once more, and the team slowly made their approach closer to the portal. They all stared at it with awe and tinges of fear, knowing that they would have to go through it (whether they liked it or not—and they didn’t).

“So, is this what it’s like to have to do the god’s bidding, Captain?” Maia said, adjusting the scarf that was wound around her neck. Ishiza was by her side, hiding behind her legs as he stared into the swirling vortex.

Charlotte stared at the portal, then stared back at Maia, turning around to face her and the rest of the team. She considered her question for a moment before answering.

“Yes, unfortunately. You don’t…really know what they’ll ask of you before they speak.” She placed her hand on her chest, feeling the soft ringing of Berath’s chime in her chest in time with her heartbeat. “And I’m really in no position to decline.” Maia’s face flickered with an emotional state that mixed between pity and acceptance of the answer, simply nodding at the Watcher’s reply.

As the team returned to look at the opening of the portal, a bright light shines out to them and a surge of wind and cold snaps at their skin. The blinding light overcomes them, and they stand there taking the brunt of cold whips of wind. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stops. They look up and are met with a familiar sight: an auroch—the manifestation of Rymrgand.

 _‘Herald of Berath, you teeter on the very precipice of your death. To once again **violate** my realm…do you desire dissolution after all?’_ Rymrgand’s voice is as cold as ice, a shiver running down Charlotte and the team as they stand before the god.

“My apologies, I have not come for death just yet.” Charlotte responded, placing her hand on her chest.

 _‘A pity. Should you ever want for a final freedom from the Pallid Knight’s grasp, seek me. I will **gladly** grant it.’_ There is an emotion in his words that Charlotte can’t grasp- but she has no doubt that the god of her people would be more than happy to crush her soul into a fine powder.

“Thank you, I will…keep that in mind for sure.” There is a flicker of concern in all her companion’s faces, and she doesn’t need to look at them to know they’re staring at her with worry in their eyes.

 _‘Now tell me, what do you want?’_ Charlotte nodded.

“What happened to the dragon?”

_‘Her soul was drawn through the breach, the Vytmádh, and into the Beyond. Neriscyrlas has bound her soul to a relic from the days when gods walked Eora as titans. This relic lies in the Beyond—and it holds her soul captive there.’_

Charlotte deduced that Neriscyrlas was the name of the dragon and appreciated Rymrgand’s information.

“So, what is this relic that her soul is bound to? Do you know why she did it?”

_‘It is one of the many things kith have thrown into the Beyond in hopes it might be devoured by the White Void. The relic cannot be destroyed. In her ignorance, Neriscyrlas hoped that tying her soul to it would save her from death. She is mistaken. True death has not claimed her yet, but it will. It is **inevitable**.’_

“Is that why the iceberg is here?”

 _‘Yes. Every time she escapes from the Beyond into the Here, she tears the hole a little wider. And so, the chill of my realm spreads._ ’ Rymrgand ends the sentence with a chuckle, while Charlotte bites her lip. If this is the case, they would have to find a way to shatter the relic or stop the dragon; maybe even both knowing how these journeys involving gods go.

“But your breach will freeze the Deadfire if you don’t close it.”

 _‘That is unfortunate for you.’_ Charlotte can practically feel the cold smugness from here. Pallegina crossed her arms, a look of annoyance drawn across her face. The Watcher sighed.

“Then shall we make a deal of sorts?”

It felt like the only way to get the gods to do _anything_ of the sort was to make a ludicrous deal with them. Rymrgand laughed, and she could feel the chill of wind brushing around her neck.

 _‘That you trust still in me or any god to deal honestly with you…It is…remarkable. Naïve, but remarkable.’_ His trio of icy blue eyes stared into the Watcher’s eyes. _‘There **is** something you can do for me. Like a maggot, the dragon Neriscyrlas has burrowed beneath the skin of my realm.’_ His voice was low and growly, and there was a tremble that rocked in Charlotte’s chest from the fury in his words.

 ** _‘Destroy her.’_** The rumble thumped against her head now, the command from the Beast etching and sticking to the back of her mind.

“Why do you want the dragon dead?” The Watcher asked.

 _‘She is already dead. She just refuses to acknowledge it. She has made herself immune to destruction by my hand, and in so doing, she **mocks** the very essence of my realm.’_ Charlotte nods, taking in his words.

“I see—then, we will do ask you ask.” She prepares to enter the portal when a rumble in the ground stops her.

_‘I would rather watch you fail than bar your entry, but you lack the means to enter the Vytmádh and survive the journey. You must seek out the Eye of Rymrgand, a relic that once belonged to my vassal, Rynhaedr. It’s a cold, blue stone, and it lies somewhere within this temple.’_

At that note Maia reached into her pack and moved toward the Watcher, giving her the stone that was taken from an imp earlier in the journey in the temple. “Does he mean this, Captain?”

The Beast’s clustered eyes moved towards Maia, then to the stone in hand. The auroch nodded his head, loose strips of ice crashing into the ground in his space.

_‘Indeed. Approach the Vytmádh with the relic in hand. It will grant your souls safe passage into the Shattered Realms. The White Void’s only purpose is to destroy souls, and it is adept at doing so. But know I will not stop my servants there from their work. They will treat you no differently than any wayward soul.’_

Charlotte let out a sigh to his words—she expected nothing less from Rymrgand, but it would be nice if he made her life not so hellish occasionally.

 _‘Should you fall to their predations, not even Berath will be able to save you.’_ She nodded, knowing full well the consequences of her actions in doing his bidding. The auroch’s eyes focused onto Charlotte’s own, and the feeling of icy wind around her neck grew in intensity. _‘One final thing, Watcher.’_

_‘ **You must destroy that dragon.** ’_

As his words linger in the Watcher’s mind, the bright light from before flares again, and in a moment, it dies down. When the team opens their eyes, the Beast of Winter is gone. They’re left staring upon the portal once more, the chill wind beckoning them to enter the realm in front of them. Charlotte let out an intense, relieved sigh. One never quite knows how a conversation with the gods will go, and there has never been enough training in her life to ever help her prepare for these situations.

“Well that was…eventful.” Edér said, rubbing the back of his head. The Watcher turned back to the group and gave a weary smile; she wondered if talking to gods tired them out as much as she got tired from it.

“It certainly was. But at least he’s left us to our own devices now.” Charlotte stared at the icy stone in her palm that seemed to pulse in her hand.

“I guess we have no choice but to head in?” Aloth stared up to the portal with intense hesitation—he knows this probably hasn’t (or going to be) the worst thing they’ve done, but it doesn’t make the prospect of going into the Beast’s realm any more enticing.

Charlotte could only give a small nod to her companion, and she returned to facing the portal as an intense energy emanated from it as it beckoned to the group. The Watcher held up the relic to the portal, dark purple energy radiating from the sphere—a blinding light obscured their vision, followed by a sudden, intense knocking in their chests. The force was too much to bear as their bodies collapsed under the pressure, their souls guided by the energy and into the portal of Rymrgand’s realm.  
  


* * *

It looks like it would take a lot longer than the team anticipated to deal with the three areas that were housed in the Beast of Winter’s realm, dutifully guarded by Rynhaedr, the sole vigilant vassal that protected these realms. In order to reach Neriscyrlas in the depth that she flew down into, they would need to deal with realms that housed three souls that were “trapped” here in the White Void. They’ve resisted the temptation of death by the sheer power and will that their souls still hold, apparently another insult to the realm of the Beast. If they are able to put the souls to rest, then they’d be able to jump down into Neriscyrlas’ area and deal with her proper.

The first area they visited was the shattered realm of Engwith during the times of the Inquisition, and helping to piece together a soul at odds with itself—it existed as an inquisitor by the name of Naxiva and as an accused, conflicted as it relived its memories over and over again. Charlotte took the roles of both souls and sifted through the memories of them, playing with an eternity of repetitious memories to find motes that were buried within the beings. As they relived the trial over and over again, it slowly dawned on the team that the shackled soul that _was_ Inquisitor Naxiva; at the very least, the part of the soul that had compassion and a flicker of empathy for the kith that they sentenced to death during the inquisition.

Charlotte felt mixed emotions as she went through each trial over and over again—her soul seemed to react strongly to this world, as if reminded of the sins and the cruelty it did in a part life, not only to the people that she _might_ have persecuted, but also to Iovara, to the leader who was the public enemy to Thaos and his followers. Iovara desired to tell the people the truth that she discovered, to set them free of the blind following of the gods—but in a past life Charlotte’s soul saw this as a threat and betrayed her, and she spent an eternity being tortured. It was all the Watcher’s fault—at least, it was the fault of her past life.

And yet her heart ached with each trial, the thumbing and pain she felt in her chest, the shortness of breath—it was difficult to breath at times as she shuffled and manifested in the trials, attempting to soothe and right the wrongs of years past. But she was determined, she wanted to write the wrongs of at least one soul, even if she didn’t know them. Maybe her own soul could find some peace in these actions.

If she could bring one soul from lives past at is, it would all be worth it.

It took some time to convince the souls to unite and come together, embracing as the weight of their eternal pain and suffering finally releasing the shackled soul. She finally took over her identity as Naxiva, thanking the Watcher and her friends for helping her soul settle and finally coming to peace with the duality inside her from the years of sentencing as inquisitor. Naxiva was ready to be laid to rest, and Charlotte moved her soul to Rymrgand’s world, fulling the Beast’s wish.

“So, this was your old life, Captain?” Maia asked as they were approaching the portal to return to the hub world.

“Yes…and no.” Charlotte’s words were hesitant, unsure. “My old soul was…certainly someone who lived during this time…I don’t know if I was actually an inquisitor; just someone who had a huge amount of faith and put the love of the gods before all else.” She bit her lip, still not sure if it’s worth it to continue or not.

Maia nodded, and crossed her arms. It seemed to be enough of an answer to get her to think.

“Do you wish you knew for sure? Knew everything about what you did and who you really were?”

“Sometimes. But, being tormented by them for nearly two years is…rough. I barely slept, barely was able to act or do anything, haha. I’m surprised I was able to help solve the Hollowborn Crisis the way that I did.” The Watcher tented her hands on her stomach, smiling at her companion. “If I had the ability to know what exactly I did in my past life…I don’t know if it would make me change my mind about all the actions that I took back in the Dyrwood. At the end of the day, I’m still just me. The ‘me’ that’s living this life, so to say.” She wondered if her words made sense.

“I see. Well, for what it’s worth, Captain, I think you’re doing a great job.” Maia clasped a hand on her shoulder to punctuate the point. Charlotte placed a hand on Maia’s own, locking their fingers together. “I don’t know if I’d be able to function with the weight of the world on my shoulders.”

“Thank you, Maia. That’s high praise coming from you.”  
  


* * *

Edér had met plenty of gods in his time with the Watcher, so there shouldn’t be anything that took his breath away anymore, but he was sure as hell surprised to learn that there were things that still did that. One of those was looking upon the body of Saint Waidwen, the leader of the holy war that he took part in. He knew there was something in the second realm that drew him in, something that called a sense of familiarity in him as the team walked upon it, as they stared at the faces of dozens of soldiers that were frozen in time. To look upon Waidwen’s face…there was something unreal about it. His thoughts flooded with images of his brother, of his parents, of years spent fighting and killing others; his head swelled with emotions and memories that crashed against him violently.

It felt weird to walk upon the bridge—it felt like he was walking upon sacred ground. That this would be the second realm they would travel to, of all places just felt surreal.

With Waidwen’s sundial in hand (an object that seemed to just tremble with power), the team shifted through moments of time during the final battle of the Saint’s War as they attempted to shuffle together the fragments of Waidwen’s soul per Eothas’ request. He was nothing more than a simple farmer, from simple beginnings. His father was a crushing constant in his life that seemed to shake the saint’s faith in Eothas, and yet the god chose him to be the light, to be the one to lead his people. Waidwen did his due diligence and created a movement and amassed people and followers to his and Eothas’ cause. He was a lot like Edér to begin with, and it was frightening how much of himself he saw in the saint.

Unease washed through everyone’s bodies as they shifted and phased through time over and over again, knowing the fate of the people on the bridge, yet unable to warn them of the pain they would suffer. They watched the saint’s body moments after the Godhammer tore him apart, his body scattered and burned from the intensity of the flame. His face was still, not realizing the severity of the pain that would rush through his body the second time unfroze. Edér couldn’t turn to look at him in pain. No one deserved to go out that way. Not him, not the soldiers on opposing sides who were fighting for a cause that they each believed in; no one.

As Charlotte pressed the fragments of his soul within his human body in the moments before, he flared to life, and a soft halo of light growing brighter around his head as he readjusting to life. His gaze felt soft as he looked at the Watcher and her companions, thankful and dazed at the scene occurring in front of him.

Edér wanted to say something, _anything_ to this man—even though he got to hear and learn the memories of his life and got to learn a little about him, there felt like there was something missing. Like there was so much he wanted to say, to ask—but his mouth was like cotton, and nothing came out as he just stared awestruck. How does one properly speak to a saint anyway, to one that was blessed by the god they believed in? Would it be rude to ask what he thinks about Eothas? To ask what he thinks about the war that he fought? To ask if he had any regrets? Eders head flared with questions and thoughts that he wasn’t used to thinking. His fists seemed to shake, a low tremble in his body shifting his body as he stood in place and watched the Watcher just talk so nonchalantly to a saint as if it was every part of her life.

And considering all they have been through; this probably _was_ an everyday occurrence at this point in their lives.

When he came to from his thoughts, the Watcher was consigning Saint Waidwen’s soul to the Beast of Winter, the weight of his resistance and regret slinking from his face as he finally accepted death. Edér locked eyes with Waidwen for a moment, and he could have sword that he smiled at him. A smile that felt like one of apology, as if the saint knew the pain that was inflicted on Edér because of the war; a smile that wished him well and wished him a good life. From one farmer to another farmer—for a second, it felt as if Waidwen was just a regular other human just like him.

Edér returned the smile with his own.

“Was that weird, looking upon the one who was a leader in the Saint’s War?” Aloth asked Edér as they made their way back to the portal to the hub.

“I…I don’t know.” He crossed his arms, still digesting the whole event in his head—Aloth could have sworn he could see the gears turning in the heads of his friend. “I’m kinda feeling all sorts of things. Thinking of my brother, my family…all the people that we lost in both Raedceras and from the Dyrwood…the persecution of the followers of Eothas…” Edér shook his head. “Lots of death came from the war and yet I…I couldn’t ask him how he felt about the whole thing, among other things.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re still alive. It’s nice to have you in my life, and to call you my friend.” Edér raised his eyebrows at the elf—he was completely caught off guard from Aloth’s words. He reached over and wrapped an arm tightly around Aloth’s shoulders, much to his surprise. They exchanged smiles and chuckles as they trailed closely behind the Watcher; the unease that Edér had was slowly washing away from his body—he was thankful to have his friends along with him through all this.  
  


* * *

The waters were crisp and cold on Charlotte’s skin as she wiped her hands in the nearby pool of water. They had traversed in the lands and moved across portals to reach…someplace, they hoped. It was hard to tell where this place ended and began as they manipulated the waters, elevating and sinking flows of water as they progressed through the cavern. The third realm looked Huana in nature; luminous adra wrapped and flowed around the area like vines, rocks covered in barnacles near the pools of water. Other rocks were covered in red leaves and branches, as if nature had suddenly taken its due to capture and reform the area to a time when it wasn’t this way.

Charlotte was back to collecting fragments of memories, this time of _Ukaizo_ —the lost kingdom, supposedly. At first she was uncertain that the kingdom was a part of Rymrgand’s domain, but considering the other two worlds anything is truly possible. The memories started with a fervor of energy and pride, the owner clearly so proud and happy of the world of Ukaizo that they created—it sounded like the ideal utopia, a place where kith from all cultures and from all parts of Eora were able to go to and indulge and enjoy the wonders of life. But they grew heavy and scared as they progressed into the world, tormented and pained by the events that led to its downfall.

Thaos and other Engwithans had made their way to Ukaizo; they promised that Ukaizo would stand for all eternity and promised to commune with the gods for strength and glory to the owner’s people. The Watcher felt a pain in their chest each time she reached for a soul, knowing full well the extent of Thaos’ damage and the suffering he caused. To know that he played a part in Ukaizo’s downfall…it didn’t surprise her, no. It just seemed like another reason to hate him.

Who wouldn’t want to leave behind a utopia to one’s people? To their family? To their heirs? Was that not a noble venture?

The team made their way into the remains of a throne room, a ruin of something that was once great, no doubt. At the edge of the long hallway lay a decorated throne- despite the crumbled rocks and the dust, the throne itself was an immaculate example of pristine perfection. It shone brightly- decorated with gold and with palm leaves. As they approached it a figure manifested, the souls that Charlotte held floating diligently back to the figure; a dog returning to its master. The figure came whole with the souls and sat down in the chair, a large aumaua man clothed in exquisite and intricately patterned robes and golden jewelry.

“My great hall stands open for all who would pay fealty to their beloved king. Why are you here?” The voice was strong, powerful—a king, no doubt. If Charlotte can handle Queen Onekaza II, then she can most certainly handle this (she hoped).

She gave a small bow to the king in front of her before she spoke. “Greetings.”

The king regards her with a smug smile on his lips, as if disappointed by the sight in front of him. Charlotte took the slight and resumed to her usual methods of diplomacy.

“Your excellency,” she said, buttering him up, “I have a few questions, I had hoped you would hear them.”

“You have proved yourself more polite than most. I will humor you—for a time. You have my permission to continue.” Charlotte nodded.

“This kingdom…does it predate Ukaizo?”

The king lets out a might roar of laughter. “My kingdom _is_ Ukaizo. The jewel of the Deadfire. No, _of Eora!_ A city so magnificent it draws the jealous eyes of all the world’s great civilizations.” He sighs, a mixture of pride and sadness in his breath. “It will make a find inheritance for my many daughters.”

“They’re very lucky, your majesty.”

He scoffs. “What greater gift can a doting father give than an empire that spans the world?” After a beat, Charlotte continued to speak.

“What happened to your kingdom?” The king raises an eyebrow, confusion and insult in his gaze.

“Look around you—is my hall not the picture of power? Do you not drown in luxury?”

There was a collective look of confusion from the group, with the Watcher desperately trying to stop her eyebrow from shooting out in disbelief. The king continued, taking their silence for an answer.

“Ah, have you finally realized that you stand in the presence of your betters? Good. I say I shall hear no more impertinent questions from you.”

“Your majesty, do you understand what happened here?” Charlotte’s words were soft and gentle, trying to cushion the blow she was no doubt about to give to the king. “To put it delicately…your civilization lies in ruin, and your soul is trapped in Rymrgand’s realm.”

“That is not possible, I say. My empire is the strongest in Eora—no, the greatest empire history has _ever known_! The king’s reaction is so be expected—he grips the armrest of the chair with a violent intensity, as if preparing to rip it from under him. His voice is shivering and angry, lips trembling and eyes clouded with rising anger. “My reach extends to the edges of the _world_! Kith on distant shores pay fealty to _me, **King Wingauro o Waturi I!**_ ”

Charlotte sucks in a breath. “You know that’s not true.” The king slams a fist upon the throne, the impact echoing all around them.

“My judgement is _beyond_ reproach by _you_ , by the _gods_ , by **_ANYONE!_** I will _not_ take the blame for what happened, _do you hear me?!_ **_I WILL NOT!_** ”

His voice is both trembling and powerful, reaching octaves so loud that it echoes all throughout the chamber, carrying all around the team. Charlotte pitied him. She knew that he wanted a lasting legacy, that he wanted something more to his kingdom, to have them survive for eternity and to let them have a city of prosperity and peace—his intentions were true, and it was his love for his kingdom that ultimately served as his downfall.

“For what it’s worth, though your kingdom fell to trickery, the Huana still thrive in the Deadfire. Your legacy survives you.”

“You speak…truly? My people still make their home in the Deadfire?” His eyes go wide at the revelation, a content sigh that seemed to hold the guilt of an eternity releasing from his body. Wingauro finally let’s go, his body a blur of color as the stress of his body washes from his body, as well as the visage that he put to Charlotte and her companions. His whole body sags with pressure and the weight of suffering in silence for centuries, and his eyes become dim as their flicker of energy fades. For once, he was free.

“All that mattered to me was the extent of our reach. Endless expansion…security for the Huana…a legacy _none_ could match. I say it was my weakness they exploited…” His voice was shaky once more. “I believed I could stand against the tide of time, the tide that wears down even the hardest stone to sand. And my arrogance doomed us all.”

The king folds over himself, elbows propped onto his knees as he held his face. He was trembling, softly. The Watcher approached him and placed a gently hand on his shoulder—the burden and the guilt he carried for so long made him a tense, tight figure. She knelt, wanting so badly to release him from his suffering. A promise of this all to end, to let go of his guilt—to return to the White Void. To finally have the release he has desperately wanted for so, so long. His soul began to come apart at the seams, purple swirls of essence wrapping around Charlotte’s hand, desperate and begging, the want of death felt in each stroke.

And the king was more than happy to finally, finally let go.

* * *

  
The team decided to spend the rest of the evening relaxing and getting well rested for their potentially long fight ahead—which served as a perfect opportunity to get a hearth going for a nice, warm dinner. They took turns prepping and getting the meal set up, adding a healthy amount of potatoes, carrots, pork and onions to the broth; Edér was more than excited to be the designated taste tester as he helped instruct Pallegina on how much more spice to add to the broth to up its richness.

Charlotte slowly drifted from helping with dinner to conversing to Rynhaedr, finding herself unable to stop talking and asking the knight about what the Lands were like back in her time. A faint smile would appear on Rynhaedr’s face as she talked about their shared lands, their shared culture—completely enthralled by how much the Land had changed in the 400 years she’s been fighting Neriscyrlas. They bounced from topic to topic, laughing and giggling as they told stories to one another, eager to have each other’s company. Charlotte for one was excited to have a fellow pale elf talk to her that wasn’t revering her like some kind of obscure god, and it filled her chest with warmth to finally have someone to help with the homesickness that lingered in her ever since they entered the island.

Aloth watched her from afar, a small smile on his lips as he watched her talk, her hands clasped in excitement and bouncing slightly in place as she spoke to Rynhaedr. It made him warm and excited inside to see her so energetic considering how the past few days have been. Maia took note of Aloth’s staring and moved over to him, gently poking him with a bowl on his shoulder to get his attention, producing a small yelp from the elf.

“Hey, got something you need the tell the Captain?”

“Hm? Oh no, not at all.” He closed the grimoire that was located on his lap and took the bowl from Maia who was raising an eyebrow at him.

“So, you were just _politely_ staring at her, then?”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Maia sighed at the response, turning back to Pallegina and Edér. Both of whom only shrugged in response, both knowing Aloth far too well to be able to convince him to not be completely vague and obtuse about everything. This of course infuriated Maia as she was now determined to figure out just what is up with Aloth—much to his dismay. She sat down and stared at the hearth as Pallegina gently swirled the mixture, giving it one final pinch of salt before putting the lid on the pot, letting it simmer for a few more minutes.

“You cannot win against Aloth, Maia. He is stubborn beyond reason.” Pallegina said with a smile—she had a bit of a point admittedly, Aloth a tiny bit stubborn all things considered, and being a man of relative secrecy, it was almost impossible to shake any information out of him. Now that he’s been reunited with his friends (and a few new ones), he found himself more comfortable, more able to be himself and relax with everyone in the crew. But of course, there were a few things he found himself unable to talk about—and matters of the heart were a big one. Aloth rolled his eyes at Pallegina’s comments, smiling all the while.

“I’d like to think I’m not that stubborn.” He folded his hands atop his grimoire, turning his attention back to the stew in front of him. It smelled wonderful, and he couldn’t want to have some of it already.

“I dunno Aloth, getting you to talk about something that isn’t related to books is pretty impossible.” Edér decided to join in on the slam-dunking session; he was lying on his back on one of the longer rock formations that they found and looked like he was trying to fend off sleep. The sudden attention was making Aloth’s entire face flush red. Maia noticed he was starting to retreat into himself and gave him a strong pat on the back.

“Sorry Aloth, didn’t mean to put you front and center like that.”

“Ah, no, that’s quite alright.” He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to formulate his thoughts in a cohesive manner. “I was just…” The elf drummed his fingers against the grimoire, thoughts still processing in his head.

“…Just lovingly staring at my Captain from afar?” It took all her willpower to suppress the smile that was forming on her face.

“Yes, yes, that.” Aloth replied absentmindedly.

There was a beat, quickly followed by Maia desperately trying to smother a chuckle with her hand. Aloth raised his eyebrows at her for a moment. Then, another beat; then, realization. Aloth brought his grimoire to his face to smother the intense shade of crimson his face turned; he wondered if Rymrgand took requests for a quick death. Pallegina smiled, unable to smother the joy in her face at seeing her friend caught off guard—she knew she would get an earful from him later about the whole situation, so for now she figured she could afford to joke. Edér waved his hand in the general direction of Maia and Aloth, turning his head slowly to the side.

“Come now Maia, aren’t we _always_ looking at Charlotte?” He slowly sat up, stretching his limbs and letting out a big yawn.

“You didn’t see the way he was looking at the Captain, Edér.”

Edér looked at her with sleepy confusion. “Well, we all care about her, if that’s what you mean.”

Maia and Pallegina could not believe someone could be so dense, but it was Edér they were talking about. Maybe him being sleepy seemed to turn his brain off even more. Maia strode over to him, passing a bowl to him as well with a smirk on her face.

“You’re right, but I suspect that Aloth might care about Captain a lot more than us. I get the feeling he might even want to—”

“I-I _can_ hear you; you know!” Aloth finally dropped the grimoire from his face and glared at Maia, who simply gave a very pleased smirk on her face. She walked over and sat on the ground between Pallegina and Aloth and turned back to her companion.

“I’m not sure why you’re being so shy about this—honestly, you and the Captain mesh so well I’m surprised you guys _aren’t_ together.” Aloth’s looked away and covered his mouth, desperately trying to smother the smile that formed on his face from her comment.

“I’m…flattered, thank you.”

“Hey, don’t mention it.” She reached for the ladle that Pallegina was passing her and began filling her bowl with stew, eyes filled with hunger and excitement. “Have you considered telling her at all?”

As much as he appreciated the help, Aloth wasn’t too particularly fond of the fact that this was now going to be a “dating talk” and he had half a mind to shut down the conversation. Maia passed him the ladle and he reached closer to the hearth to take a portion of stew as well. He considered her words and wondered if it would be worth it to talk to them about it. At least they were away from Serafen and Tekehu who got on his nerves like no tomorrow—he’d certainly not want _their_ advice on his personal life.

As least with these three he could have some reassurance in that their conversations would remain in private.

“I…have not. I don’t think there’s ever a good time considering our journey.” The bowl radiated with warmth as it filled, his hands filled with a gentle wave of heat as it ran up his arms and into his body. Maia nodded as he spoke.

“I suppose that’s true. But we aren’t always fighting and running around on missions. We have lots of downtime too. Plus, you guys have known each other for a while, yeah?”

“I-I mean, we have known each other for a while but…” Aloth looked down and stared into the abyss of his meal. “We haven’t spoken in the 5 years we were away from each other. When we met at the site it was the first time we…actually spoke proper to each other.”

His words hung in the air a bit, letting the team take it in. He raised his eyes to see the reactions of everyone: Maia’s confused glance was to be suspected, but it was Pallegina and Edér’s faces that caught him off guard. There was a bit of every range of negative emotion: anger, confusion, and a hint of sadness. Maybe even pity. Edér spoke first and with more energy, awakened by the sudden revelation of Aloth’s words.

“Wait, seriously? You didn’t even write her a letter? Hell, even Hiravias sent Charlotte letters, and he was off wandering around and painting pretty pictures.”

“Well—I was of looking for the Leaden Key’s sects, I-I didn’t really have time to send a letter.”

“Yeah but 5 years is a _really_ long time; you didn’t have any time to check up on her?” Edér’s words hit him deeply, and Aloth knew he was certainly in the wrong this time. He just _really_ didn’t want to admit it. He bit his lips, eyes sweeping the floor about half a dozen times before actually looking back at Edér.

“We…had a fight before I left…I just figured it would be best to give her space.”

Pallegina was silently staring at Aloth as he spoke, her golden eyes peering straight at him. Her resting face was so relaxed and poised, it was almost impossible to tell that she was angry, sad, or just any emotion really. The elf waited for her to speak, but she just kept listening, much to his dismay. He figured it would just be best to keep talking considering the can of worms that was now opened.

“The Watcher didn’t particularly like that I was going away so soon. I suppose she wanted me to stick around a lot longer…”

“Well, I can’t really blame her. End a giant crisis, finally get some proper sleep for the first time in almost two years…” Edér set the bowl down on the floor next to him, having somehow vacuumed the whole thing into his gullet while they were talking. “I know she was really looking forward to having some proper time to relax with everyone. Shame we uh…didn’t really get to do that since everyone kinda just left after a few days.”

“Ac, I do regret having to leave for the ducs and return to the Republics as quickly as I did.” Pallegina finally spoke, a hint of sadness in her eyes. “I do wish my duties to my country weren’t so timely and urgent back in the Dyrwood…But at least I _tried_ to keep contact with the Watcher through letters.” The last sentence was said to matter-of-factly that it felt like a slap to the face to Aloth. He felt bad for the way they said goodbye five years ago, and _now_ he’s learning that he was also a shit friend who seemed to have just completely given her the cold shoulder as well. It was hard to believe Charlotte was so happy to see him when they reunited at the Engwithan Digsite.

“Man…the Captain sure is a forgiving kind of lady.” The trio turned their heads over to Maia, who had a pensive frown on her face as her light green eyes flickered from all three of them. Ishiza had fallen asleep next to her, the occasion cooing slipping from his beak. The confusion on her companions faces led her to keep talking.

“Look, obviously I don’t know Charlotte as much as you guys all seem to do, but it seems like once she did what she had to do and helped you guys with _your_ problems…you all kind of left. Except for Edér by the sounds of it.”

Pallegina’s golden eyes homed in on Maia. “And what do you mean by _that_?”

The air was starting to grow tense.

“It just sounds to me like the poor Captain was left by her lonesome after battling some shitty night terrors that probably left her pretty traumatized.” She crossed her arms, the frown turning into a scowl. “I know what she went through—"

“Di verus? You weren’t there, how could you possibly know what she—what _we_ went through?”

“What, you think the Watcher doesn’t talk to me about her past? That she just keeps me in the dark about the shit you guys went through?” She scoffed, peeved at the audacity of Pallegina’s claims.

“Merla, I’m more surprised that she trusts a Royal Deadfire spy like you—clearly she’s misplacing her trust in someone who will just backstab—”

“What the _fuck_ are you talking about? Is that really _all_ you think I do? After all this traveling you still—”

They both stood up, hands balled up in tight fists. The air grew tense, with Edér standing up slowly and approaching them both. Aloth stared at them from his seat, the overwhelming sense of dread creeping up his spine—he wanted to help mediate it but by the _gods_ was he so poor at it. At least Edér had a calm enough demeanor that he could probably shut the two down before they tore at each other’s throats.

How did their harmless conversation get to this?

“Guys, come on now, there’s no need to—”

The intensity of Pallegina and Maia’s gaze shocked Edér for a second, but he seemed to shake it off and a surge of resolve rushed back to him as he placed a hand on both their shoulders.

“This isn’t the time to fight. Charlotte is right over there; do you _really_ want to worry her?” His words caused them to relax for a moment, but their glares at each other was still hot and intense. Maia broke the tense silence first.

“You can’t keep acting like I’m not a part of the group just because I’m from a different company than you, Pallegina.” She stepped back, undoing her hair bun and slicking the loose strands of black hair back into place as she fixed her hair. The godlike’s feathers rustled as she turned away, looking at anything but her friends.

“Sienterre…” The apology was said through gritted teeth, but the sincerity was still there. “I let my anger get the best of me. Matters concerning the Watcher matter greatly to me and I…reacted without thinking.” It was a lot shorter of an apology than Maia probably would have liked, but considering the fact that Pallegina apologized _at all_ was good enough for the aumaua.

They heard the snow crunching behind them and were dismayed to see Charlotte approaching with a worried look on her face.

“Is everything alright you guys? Rynhaedr and I were talking, and she said it looked like things were getting tense over here…” There was the creeping feeling of guilt in the group’s spine as they listened to Charlotte, feeling bad that they interrupted her conversation. There was a momentary silence before Edér spoke up and approached the Watcher, slapping a hand on her back.

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. Just got a little passionate about this conversation of ours, but nothing you need to worry about.” Charlotte nodded, her face relaxing at Edér’s words.

“That’s good.” She slipped out of Edér’s grip and sat onto one of the stone slabs next to Aloth, sighing with relief as she relaxed into her seat. “Dinner smells wonderful, I bet it tastes amazing!”

The trio returned to the hearth and tended to the Watcher’s needs—they provided her with a bowl and a spoon, pouring her a healthy portion of soup to fill her up. For a few minutes there was peace and quiet as they all sat there and spoke about the plan of attack for tomorrow. It was going to be a long day for sure, and they were determined to arrive and give Neriscyrlas one hell of a fight.

  
The next morning they stared down to the hole that Neriscyrlas made as the Watcher and her companions mentally steeled themselves to jump down into it. The drop looked steep, as if it had no end to it in sight—and yet there was really no other place for them to go. Rynhaedr joined them near the edge, looking down the hole for a second before returning her gaze to Charlotte and the team.

“Once you descend you will be much closer to the Void’s heart. There’s no returning from that place. Are you certain of your course?” She raised an eyebrow, a curious look to her gaze.

“I think we’re about as ready as we’ll ever be, sister.” Charlotte said. It felt nice to call her that—to call a fellow pale elf something so small and yet a word that held a lot of meaning in their culture. Rynhaedr laughed, a nice hearty chuckle that echoed in the hub.

“It was a pleasure to speak with you, Watcher. May the gods favor you.” She placed a gloved hand on Charlotte’s shoulder. “And give the beast a few new holes for me, sister.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

* * *

The jump felt instantaneous, as if they were given an illusion of falling that happened too fast for their brains to register that it happened. They came upon yet another platform of frigid chunks of ice that were suspended and held up by the will and power of the Beast of Winter. In the middle of the platform was what could be assumed to be the relic, with Neriscyrlas standing protectively over it. Her presence was beating the team down with waves of energy and intensity as they approached—it seemed like the relic only gave her far more power than when they faced her before in the surface. She took slow, deliberate strides towards them, her nose flaring as she spoke.

“ _You came, courting oblivion. Remarkable._ ” She tilted her head. “ _But it matters not. Nothing matters. I shall claim your essence and use it to escape this place._ ”

The Watcher’s companions placed their hands on their weapons, ready to strike at Charlotte’s words. She held a grip on the handle of her sword and looked up at the dragon in front of her.

“And how exactly do you propose to take my essence?” Neriscyrlas laughed as if the Watcher was toying with her.

“ _In the eldest manner. Via consumption—the relic shall contain your spirit, shielding it against the White Void. You shall survive…after a fashion._ ” The idea of being eaten by a dragon was certainly up there in worst ways to die in Charlotte’s head. She looked back at the dragon, questioning her again.

“…Do you realize how long you’ve been down here, Neriscyrlas?”

The dragon arches it back and looks up towards the endless sky, her voice filled with both grief and acceptance as it echoed in the realm.

“ _Years. Decades. It matters not._ ”

“It’s been centuries.”

She turns her gaze back towards Charlotte. “ _Centuries…I expected a century, but not multiple._ ” The Watcher’s face flickered with pity once again, but she tried to shake it off—this dragon did nearly swipe her to death; it was anything but a friend.

Neriscyrlas’ gently ran a claw along the relic, the pulse of its energy wrapping and beating with each stroke. She stopped, suddenly; her hand trembled as she slowly wrapped her claws around the relic. The dragon stared back at the Watcher with an intense gaze; fire and rage hidden in her glare.

“ _Let’s not prolong this any further._ ”

She ripped the relic from its stand and pressed it against the gaping, rotten maw in her chest. The power radiating from her seemed to increase tenfold and she released a mighty roar. She moved towards the Watcher and her group as they unsheathed their weapons and prepared to face her.

Edér rushed in first, bashing his shield against her with a violent intensity as he bolted her in place. The dragon looked upon him as one would look upon a fly whose death was upon him, swiping her claws at him and watching in disgust as he lifted his sword up to catch it.

“Not gonna get me again this time!” He said with a smug smile on his face. Pallegina rushed in shortly, bursts of flames emanating from her hand and aimed directly for Neriscyrlas’ face. The dragon took insult to such a hit and roared in response as the heat from the blast singes her face.

“Don’t get too cocky, Edér.” Pallegina moved closer to her companion, tightly gripping her sword and keeping an eye on the dragon. He rolled his eyes at her, perfectly content with wanting to say dumb one-liners considering the dragon that was prepared to devour them whole. They might as well have some fun while they’re fighting!

With Neriscyrlas preoccupied with the two on the front lines, Maia took steady aim at the dragon’s head, trying to get a clear shot for disorienting it. The flames from Pallegina caused the enemy to thrash its head about violently, and it was hard for her to get a good shot at it. It was clean hit to say the least; parts of the dragon’s face were black and burnt from the flames, decayed skin forming into gashes of flesh and wounds.

‘ _Perfect targets.’_ Maia thought, aiming her arquebus directly for her injuries; one good shot would be enough to send the dragon onto its knees and it’ll be perfect prey for the team. Ishiza let out a squawk, eager to get in on the action. Without a word, Maia pointed at Neriscyrlas’ head; Ishiza gave a nod and took flight, letting out another squawk as he began circling the dragon’s head.

Beside her, Aloth and Charlotte are each casting a spell—Charlotte provides the support for Edér and Pallegina with a “Nature’s Vigor” spell, hoping to provide constant healing and beefing up those two on the frontlines. She keeps an eye on the dragon, who seems rightfully pissed and bothered by the overwhelming slam of those at the frontlines—her attacks seem ill focused on the moment, like she isn’t quite sure where to strike and where to focus her attacks on.

‘ _We can use this to our advantage_.’ Charlotte thinks, trying to multitask a plan of attack and the casting of her spell.

Aloth finishes casting his spell—“Maura’s Writhing Tentacles”—right behind the dragon, and they got to work quickly—she’s flanked on all sides: the tentacles behind wrapping around her tail and legs, holding her down as she takes on the flurry of Pallegina’s fiery sword and Edér providing cover from the swings the dragon is taking at them. Ishiza is fluttering around her head like an incessant fly, pecking and scratching with his claws and flying away from her grasp. The dragon is still with confusion and a flurry of movements, that it all feels _too_ easy, and it makes Charlotte uncomfortable.

Maia fires off her shot—the steady aim hitting Neriscyrlas straight in the temple. The dragon grips her head in pain and lets out an intense, high octave roar. The team flinches from the sudden screaming, caught off guard so badly that they’re nearly taken to the floor. When they finally come too, the gaping maw in the dragon’s chest widens; the pitch black emptiness of it exudes strings and flurries of energy, beams of light pouring into it. She turns her gaze to her chosen victim—Charlotte—and send the ray of necrotic energy directly towards her. The Watcher barely has time to react as the beam comes directly into contact with her stomach, sending her flying a few feet back; her body shivers with pain, waves of it hitting her like a brick.

She can hear the angry cries of Edér and Pallegina in the distance—no doubt trying to get revenge for the hit that Charlotte just took. Aloth and Maia came rushing towards the Watcher, helping her onto her feet and making sure she was okay.

“I-I get the feeling this dragon…really doesn’t like me…” Charlotte held her stomach and winced in pain. It _really_ hurt to breathe. Aloth held her shoulders and kept her steady, looking her over with a worried glance. They could hear Neriscyrlas getting more and more violent in her attacks, slamming her claws down on the ground with ferocity as she desperately attempted to swat her enemies away. The trio moved behind a large rock close by with Maia poking her head out to keep an eye on those on the front line.

“Maia?” Charlotte sat up, wincing and sucking in her breath.

“Captain?”

“You got any bombs on you?” Her companion gave her a confused look, unsure of the question. She reached into her pack and after a few seconds pulled out a few bombs from her pack. Aloth looked between the bombs and Charlotte; his eyes grew wide as if he suddenly put the pieces together.

“Wait, you don’t intend on blowing the _dragon up_ do you…?” Charlotte nodded and grabbed one of the bombs.

“No way am I letting you get close to that thing, Captain—it’s out for your blood.” Maia said sternly, taking the bomb back from the Watcher. Aloth nodded in agreement, and it seems they were at a momentary impasse. The Watcher slowly stood up and looked over at the dragon, who was still fighting against Pallegina and Edér. She slowly made her way around the rock and back into the fray, Aloth following close behind in worry.

“Watcher! What are you doing—”

“Just follow me lead!” Charlotte tightly gripped her bow and took aim at Neriscyrlas. She focused her cyan eyes on the beast and looked for an opening; between Pallegina’s erupting flames and Edér’s tenacious grip on the dragon, things were a little chaotic for a moment. Her fingers were still on the string as she gently tugged with all her might, sucking in a breath as she focused. Neriscyrlas craned her neck up to Ishiza who was flying ahead in circles—Charlotte seized the moment and fired at the dragon, aiming right for her neck. The arrow hit, and the dragon stumbled back in pain, grasping at its neck as it tried to pull the arrow out of its decayed flesh.

Now was their chance!

“Maia—get the bombs, now!” The Watcher pointed at the dragon’s chest, it’s gaping maw open and unprotected. Her companion whistled for Ishiza and tossed a cluster of lit bombs up into the air for her companion to swoop down and grab. The dragon tried to swipe him away, fumbling between the arrow still lodged in her neck and the two pests at her feet that were proving to be another nuisance to her as well. Ishiza took advantage of the chaotic commotion and zoomed close towards Neriscyrlas’s chest and managed to chuck the bombs into her maw; the dragon went into a fit of panic, desperately reaching her claws inside her to reach for the bombs—but she was too late.

A wet, violent noise erupted from her body as the bombs set off, her putrid flesh warping and breaking apart from the intensity of the blasts. A billow of black smoke erupts from both her mouths as she collapses to her knees, spewing a waterfall of black-red blood onto the floor in front of her. Edér and Pallegina fell back as she fell over, eyes still focused on the dragon. Neriscyrlas shakes on the floor, tremors of pain washing over her as the explosions settles, more smoke seething from her open sores.

She looks up at the team in pain, eyes desperate for just one more swipe, one more hit to wrangle Charlotte for all her power. But her body cannot bear the weight of the injuries, nor can it bear the weight of the arcane energy that the relic instilled in her. The dragon crumbles into the ground with a thud, loud wheezing coming from what remains of her chest.

The team approach her body slowly and cautiously, not sure if this is a trick or not. She opens a tired eye at Charlotte, eyelids half open. She opens her jaw to speak, voice weary and wet.

“ _T-take…it._ ” She sputters out, arching her chest out towards the team. “ _I…hhaaa…I-I give up…I’m so…I’m so…t-tired…_ ” She mutters the last sentence into a whisper, eyes closing for the last time. Neriscyrlas looks serene like this, and the feeling of pity returns into Charlotte’s chest.

Edér reaches down towards the dragon, his hands slowly creeping into her chest. His face twists between varying degrees of disgust and determination until he successfully removes the relic from inside her, his fingers caked with charred gore from the blast. The relics essence pulses a brilliant bright purple, the energy washing over Neriscyrlas like a blanket. Ethereal cracks form along her skin and a brilliant white light erupts from the formations—her being dissipates into the wind, the tiny flecks of her being succumbing to the power of the White Void and becoming one with the world she had spent centuries in.

The team relaxes and breathes for the first time in a while, taking a moment to stretch and relax and check up on each other. But of course, there is no moment of peace for them, as a slow rumble in the ground catches them all by surprise. The tremors growing stronger and stronger, and within a moment the ground beneath them collapses and takes them down further and further into the Beast of Winter’s domain.  
  


* * *

  
They really had to stop dropping into places like this. Once again, the snow proved to be a savior, a blanket that softened the drop that they took after defeating Neriscyrlas. Charlotte slowly fluttered her eyes open, rolling herself onto her back; she moved her hands, rotating her wrist and trying to wiggle her fingers back into life. She let out a grumble that turned into an annoyed sigh as she tried to work her body back to life. Her whole body felt sore, and she felt like she was back in Flaune’s experiments again.

“Why does this always happen…” The Watcher did a quick countdown in her head as she prepared to sit back up. With one deep breath, she forced her body back up, desperately trying to exhale out the soreness from her muscles. It took a few seconds for her to work her brain into thinking about standing up, her legs content with just lying there without moving. Charlotte considered just lying there too, but she did kind of have to check up on the rest of her teammates and make sure they were okay. With another sucked in breath, the Watcher slowly stood up, her legs feeling like jelly the entire time. She took a second to get the blood going before slowly trotting around to check on her companions.

She knelt over to Edér’s body, his face down in the snow. The Watcher gave all her energy into shaking him awake; she went at it for a few minutes before taking to more drastic measures: pulling hard on his ear which by some miracle of the gods was just enough force to get her friend to wake up.

“Ow, ow, ow, _ow_ —” he rolled over to his side and gripped his ear. “Can’t a guy—ow—get a few minutes of sleep…?”

“Edér, you were face deep in snow!”

“I mean, yeah, but maybe _I_ needed like five minutes to sleep!” There was a groan to their left, followed by a flicker of a blue flame that burst towards them and washing over them with warmth. Pallegina sat up, rubbing her temples and cursing in Vailian. Charlotte slowly crawled over to her and dropped down next to her; a big smile formed on the Watcher’s face as the godlike looked at her with a pleased look on her face.

“You okay, Pallegina?”

“Ac, just wondering how I end up getting put into these situations…” The sentence was betrayed by smile that was tugging at her lips. Charlotte gave her best apologetic smile, but it was obvious that she wasn’t sorry in the slightest. Ishiza woke up and made his way towards the Watcher, rubbing and snuggling against her. Maia and Aloth followed behind, both extending a hand down to the Watcher and helping her stand back up.

The area was a frigid white wasteland covered in mounds of snow and ice—the depths of the lands seeming to stretch down into eternity. Heavy, cold winds brushed and whipped against them as they trudged along the lands; they kept vigilant eyes out on the ground—it was hard to see considering all the snow and fog in their faces. It felt like an eternity of walking with the snow coming up halfway to their knees, and the team was starting already tired.

They pushed through the forces of winter until they came to what looked like a dead end; they couldn’t make out much from the blizzard as it obscured their vision—it looked like a slab of towering ice and snow from where they stood. As they made their cautious approach the snow died down slowly, and as the snow parted a familiar sight; the looming figure of the Beast of Winter. His entire form exuded snow and winds, as if the weather in this realm manifested itself from his existence. The world suddenly felt much, much colder as it’s trio of eyes focused on Charlotte and her team.

‘ _The creature is gone. Good. Give me the relic you hold—I will cleanse the stain from it._ ’ The auroch’s mouth did not move as he spoke, and yet it sounded as if he was speaking all around them—his voice echoed and rang from all the ice and snow that surrounded them. Charlotte did as she told and lifted the phylactery from her pocket towards the beast. It slowly levitated out from her hand and into the beasts grip—with a quick flash of his eyes, a wave of essence lifts and dissipates from the relic. Rymrgand gently returns it to the Watcher (a gentleness that she did not expect the Beast of all things to have).

‘ _The force that held the dragon’s lair intact is gone, lost to the Void as all things are_.’ He readjusted his grip on his mighty axe; it looked imposing and sharp and emanated a menacing aura. Charlotte swallowed, not wanting to be on the opposite end of that axe. The Beast continued.

‘ _Now you stand within my innermost domain, a realm from which none may return_.’

The Watcher didn’t like where this was going, and from the familiar sounds of confusion from her teammates, neither did they.

“I destroyed the dragon, just as you asked. I kept my end of the bargain—you keep yours.” Charlotte did her best to sound confident and in control of the situation, but it was difficult since a god the size of a small mountain stood in front of them with a menacing weapon to rip them apart with. Once again, she had to choose her words carefully.

He scoffed. ‘ _I cannot permit a soul that has felt the chill of the White Void to leave this plane. But, I would strike a compromise_.’

Charlotte breathed in. She _really_ didn’t want to strike yet another deal considering he already broke their first one (she really should have seen that coming).

‘ _You may return to the mortal realm in recompense for what you have done. But within you will bide my chime. And when you die, your soul will enter the White Void._ ’

There was a beat as the Watcher and her companions took in the proposition set upon them by Rymrgand. Edér and Pallegina took their place next to Charlotte, taking defensive stances as they stared down the Beast, hands tightly gripping their weapons. All it would take is her order and they’d go rushing in with weapons drawn, but the Watcher was hoping that it wouldn’t come to that. She took a step forward and responded to the beast.

“I already carry Berath’s chime.”

‘ _Berath will have no use for your chime once you’ve completed their task, and should you perish in the process, you will have no use for it in **death**._’ His voice was monotone as usual, and there was something about his disregard for her mission that ticked Charlotte off. She wondered if her glare would be enough to get her annoyance across to him. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down, not wanting to enrage the Beast of Winter. Aloth’s warm hand found her shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze of support. She turned her head to meet his gaze and returned his smile with her own.

The Watcher turned back to the Beast.

“This isn’t what I agreed to when I told you I’d take care of Neriscyrlas.” He scoffed, the noise of it echoing all around them.

‘ _This realm is governed by immutable laws, and I will not bend them to suit you. You have your choice. **Accept my chime, or remain here.**_ ’

“Apologies, Beast. I’ve learned better than to make deals with gods of death—especially those who don’t honor their part of the bargain.”

The Beast tightened his grip on the axe and lifts it up into the air, slamming it onto the ground with a violent intensity that nearly knocks the team to their feet. There’s a sharp crack behind them as they watch the small bridge from this platform to the next one over collapses and falls into the bottomless void behind them. The air howls, picking up with fast intensity as it whips against their exposed skin. The storm of snow returns as a vortex of cold, a deep chill running down the team’s spine. The Beast of Winter picks up his axe, snow and ice dripping from the blade as he readjusts the weapon in his hands. His clustered trio of eyes flash with a bright blue brilliance as he turns his gaze back to Charlotte.

‘ ** _So be it._** ’

And then he’s upon them.

The team wasn’t prepared for this—they just got out of one fight against a giant dragon and weren’t able to properly rest, and _now_ the manifestation of death and decay was aiming his axe at them! They start with what they know best, Edér bashing his shield against the enemy while Pallegina provides support through her blue flames; they keep the Beast at bay while the other three provide help from the backlines. Charlotte focused on casting support spell after support spell, trying to keep the team alive and healthy—it was hard to focus with all the noise from the storm of snow, but she was trying her darndest to stick through. From the corner of her eye she can see Aloth casting a fireball into his hand and Maia preparing a shot at the Beast.

There’s a hustle in everyone’s step, desperately trying to fend the Beast off before their bodies collapse from exhaustion. But with how hard the beast is coming at them, their bodies might succumb to injuries before exhaustion. The god’s mighty axe swung down at the group and they scattered, somehow managing to leap out of the way of the blade as it struck the ground. It stuck into the ice for a moment, and the Beast struggled to get it back out; another perfect opportunity. Edér took a gallant leap onto the axe and ran up the god’s furry arm; he grabbed his shield with all his might and gave the god a mighty blow with the edge of his shield. His efforts were rewarded with a satisfying _crack_ in the air as the Beast fumbled back, blue blood dripping from his mouth.

With ease the Beast swept Edér off of him, backhanding the fighter back onto solid ground. Pallegina swooped in while the god was busy, digging her sword right into one of his his knees—the Beast howled in pain as Pallegina lit her sword up with her mighty flames, burying the sword deeper and deeper as she put all her effort into her thrust. Aloth set forth a large, fiery fireball at the Beast’s head, surrounding the god in an intense heat that singed his white fur black. He was overwhelmed with fire, burning an intense shade of crimson and blue from the simultaneous eruption of power from Charlotte’s companions. With one fell swoop, Maia takes one shot at the Beast- directly between his many eyes. The shot pushes the Beast back with a violent force and power, a final grunt of pain resonating from his mouth.

The Beast collapses to one knee, his clustered eyes staring at Charlotte with a fiery energy. Bright blue liquid drips from his mouth as it turns into a crocked smile. He lets out a deep laughter that echoes in the wind around them, a noise that shakes through their chests. The team keeps a steady hold of their weapons, anticipating for him to rise again to rain down terror upon them.

‘ _You **do** amuse, Watcher. The others have that much right._’ The Beast says, slowly standing up and shaking his body. A light shines in his eyes, and his body is engulfed in light—his wounds slowly begin to sew shut, and his posture strengthened with vigor. The cyclone of snow around them dies down to a halt, and the area around them is serene once more. He points his axe at the team and a new storm emerges, whipping around them and slowly lifting them up into the sky. Above them is a wide tear in the sky, masses of shape and color that bear the familiar shape of the temple they found—a mixture of relief and excitement rise in their chest as they eagerly await to finally be home and be done with their adventures in the White Void.

‘Farewell, Watcher of Caed Nua.’ The Beast of Winter’s voice rings out to them as they make their way out of his realm and back to their own.

A brilliant flash of light blinds their vision as they tumble through the portal and back into their bodies in their world. There’s a collective gasping for air that’s instantly replaced with the groans and moans of pain; their bodies were stuck in the temple for so long that they’ve grown stiff and cold from the icy cold winds of the breach. Charlotte looks back to the portal that they came from, the brilliant light it once shone now completely gone; no wind is emitted from it, nor light, or energy. It’s gone completely still and silent.

The Watcher slinks down into the ground, lying on her back and closing her eyes. Her companions sit beside her, all feeling exactly the same way. She hears a thud from across from her, followed by a sound of pain—she laughs in response.

“Edér?”

“Yeah?” His voice carries a bit of pain to it.

“Five minutes of sleep?”

“Yeah. Yeah, five minutes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooooly moly. Sorry this took so long to get out folks! It's my last week of school and I've been juggling finishing my final project for my VR class and just trying to make it to the end of the week! But come Friday I'll be free for like a month or so, which means more time to get chapters out!
> 
> Sorry this one was sooo long. I wasn't sure if I wanted to divide this chapter up again or not, so I spent a lot of time chipping away and editing it and just staring at it for like a week...I'm glad it's finally over, and I can't believe I put out as many words as I did, haha. 
> 
> Gonna take a few days to plot out the next chapter-- thinking of maybe either tackling Pallegina's personal quest, or breaking from the canon and doing something involving Vela...we shall see!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading-- I hope you enjoyed it!


	8. Retribution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was going to wipe his entire existence from this face of Eora, and she was going to love every fucking second of it. “I’m going to get rid of you—even if it’s the last fucking thing I do!”
> 
> And of course, he laughed at her response. His laugh was grating, annoying, and so many other nasty words that filled the Watcher’s head right now.
> 
> “Now this is what I wanted to see from you! Show me just how fuckin’ mad you are Watcher! Give me your fuckin’ best shot!” A free hand came to pat himself on his chest, right over his heart—and the Watcher was more than happy to take the shot.

Fort Deadlight stood as a solitary vigil in the middle of the sea, serving as the sole inhabitant of the tiny island that it resided in. Through the spyglass Charlotte could see the flickering of lights (torches, no doubt) along the outer walls, suspended above the myriad of cannons that adorned the towers. It was heavily guarded as Serafen said, and a flare of doubt radiated in the back of her head—but she could not falter now in the face of what she was about to do; no, not now. Another warmth flared in her mind, the reaffirming brush from her fellow cipher companion that seemed to desperately wash the doubt and fear out of her head.

“I appreciate the help, Serafen.” Charlotte gently tucked the spyglass inside her frock and turned to face him.

“Ain’t nothin’ to it, cap.” He stood at the helm, fingers gently coaxing the boat and guiding it towards the fort. “I know you ain’t one for my, uh, _intrusions_ , but who doesn’t like a little reassurin’ pat every now and then, yeah?”

She laughed at his response, thankful for Serafen’s humor during these times. The seas were calm (thankfully) as they made their journey northwest towards Fort Deadlight, the sun setting gently as they skidded across the sea. The calmness of the waters and the sky gave her a certain measure of hope, but the Watcher didn’t want to get too excited or get ahead of herself—who knows what might happen as they approach the waters of this unknown territory that they’ve avoided up until now. At least Serafen was here to guide her and keep her company.

It had been about three days since the encounter at the Harbinger’s Watch, and she felt like it would be best to give her companions some much needed rest and relaxation on solid, warmer lands. It might not have been the most luxurious place to spend a few days in, but at the very least it was a few days not thinking about anything other than relaxing—thankfully Port Maje had a very quiet countryside feel to it, which make it easy to indulge in the peace and quiet. Earlier in the day Charlotte made the rash decision to come to Fort Deadlight to pluck a thorn from her side, and as someone who isn’t fond of making decisions without thinking them through, she approached Serafen with her thoughts.

Her companion was keeping the company of a cold mug of beer when she asked him to go upstairs to the porch of The Kraken’s Eye. The air outside as crisp and salty, the breeze a welcome change from the rising heat and humidity in the inside of the inn. When they reached a spot tucked away in the corner and away from private eyes, Serafen did what he did best—ask if the captain was trying to get some much needed _“private”_ time with her favorite orlan. Serafen thought the joke was high quality and looked to Charlotte to laugh as well, but the awkward chuckle led him to believe that maybe now isn’t the best time to joke about these things. He rested his half-drunken beer onto a nearby table and pulled up into a chair next to it. The Watcher was leaning against the railing, hands folded on her stomach as she looked at her companion; her eyes were clouded with a myriad of thoughts, as if she was processing a lot of information faster than she can speak on.

“So, what’s all this about, cap?” Serafen strummed his fingers along the wooden table as he looked at Charlotte. His first instinct was to get inside her head to check up on her, but he knew that she wasn’t particularly fond of it.

“There is…something I’d like to ask you to help me with.” She brushed a gloved knuckle along her chin. “It’s something that requires a bit of…discretion.” The orlan raised a bushy blue eyebrow at her.

“And that would be...?” It took all his energy not to make a joke about this situation. Charlotte’s cyan eyes bore into his own light green eyes.

“I would like for you to take me to Fort Deadlight.” Serafen looked at her with confusion.

“What, like, right now?”

“If you would like, we could.” She propped her elbows on the railing behind her.

“Just the two of us?”

Charlotte nodded.

“Alone?”

She nodded again.

Serafen _wished_ he could have the composure to look as completely calm as the Watcher did in this situation. His face twisted into confusion, sputtering words and incoherent thoughts as he was processing what the Watcher asked of him. She must’ve thought this through as her face continued to just be the picture-perfect example of complete and total calmness and peace. He took a big gulp of beer, hoping the alcohol would help him gather his thoughts more coherently. The tankard gently slammed onto the table as he looked back at the Watcher with renewed confusion.

“Cap…why the fuck do you wanna do this? Is this about Benweth?” He wiped his sleeve against his mouth as he wiped off the excess beer from his face. She nodded.

“Fighting Benweth is…a personal vendetta, at this point.” Her words were slow and deliberate. “I don’t think I want to involve my companions in something that…doesn’t really concern them.” The hand that brushed under her chin brushed against her neck, the tips of her fingers gently pressed against them. Serafen didn’t seem to be content with that answer.

“Cap, do you got a death wish or something? There is no way in Hel I’m gonna let you go into Fort Deadlight by yourself!”

“So, you’ll go with me, then?”

“Well, no fuckin’ shit will I go with you, but we’re takin’ more people with us!” Charlotte let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Please, Serafen, I really don’t want to drag the others into this.” Her voice came out a little more pleadingly than she wanted, and it was obvious she didn’t like the way the sentence came out—she turned her head to look away from her companion. Serafen sighed and took another sip of his beer.

“Cap, you do realize how worried sick everyone’s gonna be if you go missin’?” The bite of her lip was enough to let him know she was taking in his words. “You’re a soft-hearted son of a bitch for sure, and you got lots of smarts too. Even you gotta admit what you’re asking me is fuckin’ stupid.”

She nodded and turned back to face him. “I know what I’m asking for is…difficult, and stupid for sure.”

“Then _why_ do you wanna do it alone? So, what if you got a personal vendetta? You think the rest of the team gives a fuck?”

Charlotte’s eyes wandered from Serafen to her hands, to the floor, and to the sky above them. She let out a small defeated sigh and looked back at her companion.

“I…do not want them to see me should I…get angry. Should I be filled with a grave desire to kill Benweth, or worse.” She bit her lip again, and a swirl of fear clouded her eyes. “I hope to resolve this whole conflict with words but…I get the succinct feeling it might not go the way I want it to.”

Serafen wondered if it was possible for him to get inside her head for just a moment, to feel the emotions that only her eyes relayed—he wanted to know what she was feeling right now, but out of a mutual respect he kept his powers to himself. But by the gods was he so desperate to try and solve and piece together the mystery that was in front of him.

“You ain’t ever gotten revenge on anyone, have you?” The Watcher shook her head.

“No, I prefer to either settle things with words, or to just forgive and forget.”

“Incredibly passive tactics.”

Charlotte smiled. “Mhm. Words are the most powerful ability at my disposal. That and, well, harnessing the powers of nature.” She let out a small chuckle of pride. Serafen smiled as he stared, enjoying the moment of confidence she displayed—the Watcher did it so rarely that it was always a spectacle to behold. There was a moment of silence between them with nothing more than the gentle noise of wind to fill the silence. Serafen spoke, his eyes half-lidded as he spoke to her.

“Do you think you have it in you to kill him? To kill Benweth?” He could see the Watcher swallow hard.

“I…do not know. If it came to either his life or mine, I think I would have no choice but to.”

“So, what makes this time so much more difficult then all the other times we’ve been killin’ kith?” Charlotte paused, trying to formulate a response in her head.

“Well, we don’t just…actively kill people because we don’t like them. We either kill because we’re defending ourselves or…cause of a bounty, I suppose.” It made sense in her head, which is why she wouldn’t be surprised if Serafen didn’t understand. Her companion nodded.

“I think I’m startin’ to see where you’re comin’ from.” He ran his fingers through his bushy blue beard. “So, you don’t wanna just be a killin’ machine or something, yeah? Don’t wanna give into the thrill of takin’ a life?” The Watcher gave a small nod.

“I know it’s…stupid, and very selfish. But I don’t want to see what happens if I am suddenly just so…so pressed and give into that feeling—the feeling of taking a life because they hurt me.” Charlotte rubbed the back of her neck, her eyes looking pleadingly at Serafen. “As the Captain of this crew, I feel like it falls on me to take care of Benweth on my own for the damage that he caused us. I will…take _revenge_ on him for putting in danger the lives of those near and dear to me.”

Another silence crept into the space between them as the words hung in the air. Serafen crossed his arms and looked down at the floor as he took what he heard. He was still of the mind that she really didn’t need to go into Fort Deadlight alone, but he had a feeling that she would spend all night pleading her case to him—and he was a sucker for her kindness. With a small nod, he looked back at the Watcher and spoke to her.

“Alright cap, I’ll do you this favor that you be askin’ of me.” He saw the delight in her eyes and gave a smirk. “But, we gotta lay down a few rules and other shit just to make sure _you_ get out of this alive. Especially if you be determined to do this shit by yourself.” He extended his hand out to the Watcher, who returned it with a vigorous shake.

“Thank you, Serafen—I appreciate your help in this.”

“Eh, not a problem, cap. I, uh, just hope you got a pretty good lie in your pocket to get yourself away from the rest of the crew.” Charlotte thumbed her chin, eyes deep in calculated thought. She muttered to herself as she thought of a few potential solutions and gave a snap of her fingers when one came to mind.

“Well, I’m not the best liar in the world but…I think I have a little white lie that _might_ work.” Serafen laughed as he stood up and made his way to the door downstairs.

“Well, luckily for you cap, I’m a fuckin’ expert at bluffin’. I’m sure I can help you tweak the lie a bit.”

And just like that, the two were making their way towards Fort Deadlight the very next day. Charlotte told everyone that she was asked by Governor Clario to visit the Engwithan Digsite to check in on the animancers there and to see if they needed any help. When asked why she had to go alone, she merely mentioned that Ikahwa would be sending a few Mataru warriors to accompany her as they were assisting in defending some of the animancers while they did their research. It was as white of a lie as she could possibly make, and it seemed to work on those that asked—she was a horrible, horrible liar so she was thankful that people were buying it.

As they approached the fort Charlotte began gathering the supplies for reaching the fortress—a grappling hook and a stiletto she hid in her boots in case she got disarmed. Serafen had insisted earlier that she take a little bit more goods with her (namely smoke bombs), but she was convinced that the lest armed she was the safer she’ll be. He _highly_ doubted that, but he wasn’t one to argue with the captain when her mind was totally made up. The orlan reached for the grappling hook and put all his might as he swung the rope before tossing it high towards the towers. The hook clung to the stone, and after giving the rope a reassuring tug of strength, Serafen passed it to Charlotte.

“Remember what we spoke about?” He raised an eyebrow at her while they spoke.

“Yes, I do. I have until the sun rises to find Benweth and get my, er, revenge on him.” She returned the gaze with a soft smile.

“Yeah. And remember, once you’re inside there, you’re gonna be all alone. Won’t be able to provide backup if things go awry.” He leaned against the railing with his arms crossed. “But, ah, there _hopefully_ won’t be any kind of bullshit, right cap?”

“I assure you; I’ll be perfectly fine. Thank you, Serafen.” The Watcher gave another tug on the rope to verify that it was still holding steady and gave her companion a small nod. Taking a deep breath, she slowly climbed the railing of the ship and made a steady jump towards the fort’s wall, and scaled upwards.  
  


* * *

  
The fort was dead quiet at this time of night—no patrols around the perimeters, no one manning the forge, absolutely nothing but dead silence. Charlotte wondered if she had walked into a trap of some sort or if something might’ve occurred in the fort.

‘ _Maybe they’ve all drunken themselves into a stupor…_ ’ She thought as she slowly crept her way through the hallways and out into the main courtyard. Despite the torches that were lit all around the walls, the courtyard displayed a wonderous view of the night sky, with countless stars twinkling and shining above her. She would have loved to be able to appreciate the view, but Charlotte didn’t feel comfortable standing in one place for too long. She stayed hugged against the walls of the fort, moving from shadow to shadow as she looked around the area—there really wasn’t a soul in sight. She deduced that she probably would have to go inside one of the buildings and do proper excavating.

Charlotte made her way toward the entrance in the middle of the courtyard and calmly walked up the stairs. The door was locked, and with a gentle push, she made her way into the room; she was hit immediately with the scent of alcohol and loud music and was not surprised to see a large gathering of people here celebrating. She made her way into the room and looked around; lots of alcohol everywhere, on people’s shirts, on the floors and on tables. Empty tankards were _everywhere_. Serafen wasn’t lying when he said that the pirates here were really into partying like it was no one’s business. Louder than the noise of the people talking and cheering was the soft melody of someone playing the piano with intense fervor, and Charlotte was actually interested in seeing who was playing it.

Pushing through the sea of people she was able to see the assailant—a familiar face of one _Benweth_ , who seemed completely lost in the music, his fingers moving deftly across the row of keys like he’s been playing his whole life. The crowd around him clapped in time with the press of the keys, his messy brown hair tossing and jumping around as he moved his head. Charlotte was desperately trying to devise of ways and methods for her to isolate the man from the throng of crowds, but it looks like the party was already at its crescendo, and there didn’t seem to be any hope in these people just stopping anytime soon. Her eyes scanned the crowd, trying to see if there were any distractions or something that could help her isolate him from the rest of these people. She had a feeling they were partial to him, and the last thing she wanted was to have an entire group of enemies against her. A one-on-one fight would be the ideal situation for her in these times.

Unsure of how to proceed while the party was going on, Charlotte decided to try and blend in with the crowd. She grabbed a random tankard that she found and pretended to be enjoying the music, clapping in tune with the music and talking to whoever came up to her. It seemed like the whole ordeal went one for an eternity but after what was most likely an hour or so, the party had died down as most of the people in the room had just completely collapsed from exhaustion and drunkenness. The Watcher followed the crowd that made their way upstairs, keeping an eye on Benweth as he walked at the front of the group. He was just within reach—if she could just get him away from prying eyes, then she can finally be done with this.

After a few more minutes of following the crowds like a creepy ghost, to listening to Benweth talk about how many whores he will bed tonight, while _also_ talking about all the people he’s slaughtered tonight, Charlotte decided to slowly retreat from the crowd. She began walking in a random direction and opening any door that came her way before finally making her way to the top of one of the towers, the nice refreshing breeze of the Deadfire hitting her in the face. Things were moving at a slower pace than she anticipated, and it was started to get on her nerves. She definitely wasn’t made for spy work, but by the gods she expected for at least one thing to fall in line when she needed them too.

She ran a hand through her snow-white hair, taking a moment to focus and readjust herself. Charlotte could tell she was letting her nerves get the best of her and was taking measures to try and keep herself as calm and composed as possible. Taking nice deep breaths, she tried to steady her breathing and regain her usual composure that she would have during their regular missions. Maybe it was because this wasn’t a regular mission, maybe it was cause her friends weren’t here by her side and that she was all alone trying to do something without outside assistance…

Really, it was just another big idea that seemed to be going completely awry.

The breeze was soothing against her skin and she closed her eyes as she took a moment to herself. Within the breeze she could have sworn that she heard the slow creaking of a door behind her. Sucking in a breath, she turned around to see the bright flash of steel coming in her direction.  
  


* * *

  
“Looking for someone, Maia?” Aloth finally put down the book he was reading to gaze at the confused aumaua. His companion was standing in the middle of the war room, making it the fourth time in the past hour that she’s entered the room, done a complete 360-degree rotation, let out an exacerbated sigh, and exited through the door. The elf was content with just letting her do what she needed so that he could enjoy the rest of the night in peace and solitude, but as always, something had to come along and disrupt his night. At least Ishiza had the right of it—he made himself comfortable on one of the chairs in the corner of the room and had fallen asleep on it. Maia turned to look at Aloth, running her hand through her black hair.

“Yeah, yeah actually—have you seen the Captain at all today?” In her other hand were a cluster of rolled up parchments, tied together with a wide piece of red ribbon. Aloth shook his head in response.

“Not since this morning. I believe Governor Clario needed her for something…?” He tried to recall what Charlotte told him this morning during their quick conversation. “Something with the digsite, if I recall.”

“Tch. Think they’d be done by now? I kind of need to send this missive out about what happened at the Harbinger’s Watch, but I need her to make sure I spelt all the names correctly...”

“They should be, unless an issue rose out of nowhere.” He ran his hand down the spine of the book he was reading. “Have you asked anyone else?” Maia let out another annoyed sigh.

“Yeah, I asked Xoti and Pallegina, and they said they haven’t seen the Captain either. _Someone_ should have seen her—it’s kind of our responsibility to know where she is…”

Laughter and voice filled the hallway and Maia poked her head to see Tekēhu and Serafen make their way down towards their rooms. She waved her hand and urged the two companions into the room with confused glances.

“Please tell me either of you two have seen the Captain today.” Her words came out as half of a question and half of a plead. Tekēhu shook his head, his tentacled hair wiggling in time with his shakes.

“Apologies, friend Maia—I have not seen the Watcher since we enjoyed breakfast this morning.” His onyx eyes turned to Serafen, waiting for his response.

“Well, I regret to also inform you that I don’t have a clue where our cap’ be.”

Maia ran a hand through her hair once more and gave what _could_ be a thanks before storming off towards the ship’s deck. The trio in the room gave a shrug, with Aloth opening his book and picking up where he left off before the intrusion. Tekēhu took a seat at the table, resting his elbows on it as he stared at Aloth.

“What say, do you think the Watcher should be back by now?”

“I’m sure she’ll be here soon—if I had to guess within the next hour or so.” Aloth answered but continued reading—the two most annoying people in his life were here, and he really didn’t want to give them a moment of his time.

“Ekera, I say you have quite a lot of confidence in her return. Do you not worry for our Watcher?”

It was obvious that Aloth cared, in fact one would say that he cared the most about her wellbeing! He fidgeted in place, thinking of what to say other than _‘Well obviously I care about her, you fish brained idiot’_ , as that might have been a bit too rude to say. He could hear a snicker coming from Serafen, and he suspected that the orlan might have done a quick intrusion into his head while he was busy thinking.

“Of course I do, but she’s very capable and I have no doubt that she can handle whatever issue arises.” He turned a page in the book, flashing his eyes at Tekēhu momentarily. “It’s also possible she might be spending the night there—we can’t really say for sure since we don’t know the specifics.” And if there is anything Aloth has learned from his time with the Watcher, is that there is always a “but” for any kind of request that they take. Nothing is ever what it seems at front.

“Aloth’s got a point, I don’t think we ought to be bustin’ our balls over somethin’ we don’t know about. I’m sure she’s okay.” Serafen had taken a most comfortable position on the chair he laid on with his legs dangling over the side of the armrest.

There a long moment of silence as they sat there in the war room relaxing; Aloth’s turning of the pages, Serafen slowly falling asleep, and Tekēhu watching Ishiza sleep peacefully. Behind the closed door came the sounds of muffled voices that rose in octaves and started getting closer and closer; the door to the room suddenly slammed open, catching all three of the men in the room off guard—Serafen in particular falling face first into the floor. Pallegina and Maia’s face popped into the room with wild looks on their faces.

“A-are you both alright?!” Aloth asked, picking his book up from the floor and inspecting it. He really didn’t mean to chuck it onto the floor as violently as he did. Maia was the first to answer, her voice filled with a little bit of shakiness.

“The Captain is _missing_.”

There was a stunned silence in the air as the words hung in the air. Serafen groaned as he lifted himself from the floor, propping himself up on his elbows. He muttered a swear, both at the pain and at the fact that they somehow found out the Watcher was missing.

“What say? Is the Watcher not at the digsite?” Maia shook her head at Tekēhu’s question, pinching the bridge of her nose. Pallegina was uncharacteristically tense and stressed, the feathers in her hair on edge and ruffled.

“I went to speak to Governor Clario about Port Maje and how the Vailian Trading Company was doing here. We were walking towards the inn when Maia showed up and asked about the Watcher.” She folded her arms and continued speaking, a bit more relaxed and composed now. “Apparently, he had no idea about this ‘request’ for her to go to the digsite. While they spoke when we arrived, they haven’t seen each other since then, and Clario _certainly_ hasn’t made a request of the Watcher of any variety.”

Serafen stared at the ground—he somehow knew this would all go to shit but didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Guess even he underestimated how much these people had their eyes on the Watcher.

“Then…do we know where she went?” Aloth responded, fear rising in his voice. “Has anyone actually seen her since this morning?” Pallegina shook her head. Silence filled the room again as the team was at an impasse, unsure of how to proceed knowing that the Watcher was out there—it’s completely possible she wasn’t even in Port Maje all things considered. Why would she leave? Why would she leave without telling them!? She was always the kind of person to inform people of her schedule for the day, and for her to suddenly just up and vanish is completely out of the ordinary for her.

Serafen lifted himself from the floor at last, wiping and smoothing out his clothes once more as he spoke.

“Maybe we should, uh, start listin’ off some of the places she might have gone to. It’s possible that she might’ve lost track of time doin’ Watcher things.” He went over to one of the shelves against the wall and pulled out a roll of parchment, gently placing it on the table as he went back to find a quill. Maia’s eyes were glued on him the entire time he moved.

“You’re awfully calm about this whole thing, Serafen.” There was a bit of accusation in her voice, and the orlan did his best to shrug it off.

“Well, one of us has to be—if we keep panickin’ we ain’t gonna get anything done, I promise you that.” With a quill in hand he went back over to the parchment and began writing (or rather, making random marks and flicks of the wrist).

“Have you seen the Watcher?” Maia asked. His light green eyes flickered to her eyes.

“You already asked me that, Maia. The answer still be ‘no’.”

“Yeah, well it’s good to just reconfirm these things.” All eyes were on him, the air getting tense and stuffy out of nowhere.

“Aye.” Serafen kept his gaze on the paper as he wrote down a bunch of the major areas in Port Maje. He motioned for the team to divert their eyes to whatever scribbles he made on the paper, trying his best to get them thinking about his incredible calmness during this time. “Knowin’ our cap she’s probably off helping some poor sod and didn’t even notice the time. I reckon we ought to look around Gorecci Street to see how those folks be doin’ since we last visited.”

His hand stroked his beard, taking quick glances at everyone’s faces. They looked like they were considering his words, their faces a mixture of worry and thought. He decided to keep talking to keep them from questioning him.

“Where’s Edér? Does he know the Watcher be out there without us?”

Pallegina answered. “Ac, and I think he’s been running around like a dog trying to find his owner.” She shook her head and shrugged, incredibly used to her friend’s overprotective behavior.

“Well, be sure to let everyone know what we’ll be doin’ then, and we can meet back here in…two hours or so and see if we have any updates. I reckon that sounds good to everyone?”

His companions nodded, and they all set out per Serafen’s instructions. It was obvious that not everyone seemed to agree with what he was saying, but they really didn’t have any other leads to go by at this moment. The orlan himself folded his arms and thinking of his own plans too. With one look at the sky, he realized he would have to leave dock soon to go (hopefully) pick up the Watcher—but _now_ he had to deal with Maia potentially on his tail and getting awfully suspicious. This shit just couldn’t be easy, huh?

Serafen eyed the dock and casually made his way to it, taking a long stare at the boat that he used in the morning, the orlan’s thoughts were a jumbled mess as he thought of yet another lie and cover he could use to get the hell off Port Maje.  
  


* * *

  
Benweth rained upon Charlotte with a flurry of swings that clanged heavily against her rapier. His swings were fast and uncoordinated, making it too difficult to see a potential opening for her to take her own swings—it looked like she would need to make her own at this rate. He let out a deep, guttural chuckle that filled the Watcher with absolute disgust.

“Hah! Is this the best the fuckin’ _Watcher of Caed Nua_ can do!?” Benweth raised his hand and gave all his might into one powerful thrust of his rapier. Charlotte was able to deflect it, their rapiers caught at an impasse as they clang together. They both stood their ground, not prepared to give in to the other’s will. And by the gods was Benweth putting all his overwhelming might into the sword, his knuckles going white from the intensity of the grip on his rapier’s handle. His eyes were aflame with anger and determination as he stared into her—it was obvious to Charlotte that this man wasn’t going to give in that easily.

“You haven’t seen anything yet!” Pressing a hand against the blade of her rapier, the Watcher gave one powerful push into Benweth, overwhelming him and pushing him back—she dashed into him as he recoiled and returned the flurry of blows she was dealt with earlier. She could see that her enemy was caught off guard, not used to being on the receiving end of punishment. Charlotte focused her mind as she attacked, using a free hand to begin conjuring a spell—her voice a harsh whisper in hopes to catch Benweth off guard, and it seemed to be working. The composure he once held looked like it was slowly fading into pure, violent hatred; it was obvious from his gritted teeth that he was getting rightfully pissed at her.

With an open palm Charlotte summoned forth a flurry of vines that sprung forth from the ground beneath Benweth, wrapping tightly against his legs. The sudden uninvited guest caught him off guard and with a satisfying _thunk,_ he crashed into the ground. He dropped his rapier and inched his hand closer to it—only to have Charlotte kick it as far away as she could. The Watcher gently placed her blade at the tip of Benweth’s neck, her gaze staring into him underneath her. This felt almost too easy.

“Tch, you fight fuckin’ dirty, Watcher…” He lifted his head only to be put back in his place with the top of Charlotte’s blade.

“Did you also think it was dirty to come upon _my_ ship in the middle of a storm and attempt to take over?” There was a fury in Charlotte’s voice that she could not hide, despite her best intentions to keep a level head at this time. She couldn’t afford to lose her cool when she had what she came for so close within her grasp. Benweth rolled his eyes at her.

“Oh, don’t give me that shit, Watcher.” He lifted his head up this time, the blade piercing his skin gently. Charlotte wondered if she should pull her sword back, but her muscles tensed at the thought instinctively—something was desperately telling her to keep standing her ground. Through a grimace, Benweth continued speaking. “It’s kill or be killed in the Deadfire, and I sure as fuck intend to let _my_ crew make it out of this shithole alive.” His nails dug into the stone ground as it balled into a fist by his side.

There was something wrong here. A creeping feeling of dread rose up in Charlotte’s spine. A feeling she couldn’t shake off.

“Maybe you’d do well to get out of this place then. Permanently.” Charlotte tightened her grip on her rapier.

And then he laughed. And laughed. And _laughed._ Laughed as if Charlotte had told Benweth the funniest fucking joke he had ever heard. He tossed his head back as he let out a laughter of ecstasy and excitement, with the Watcher just staring at him with confusion.

“What’s so funny?”

He finally returned his gaze back to her, the laughter subsiding into a crooked smile. There was a certain energy that was exuding from his soul, something that lashed out and tugged at the Watcher intensely—a fire that dared and tempted her to challenge him.

“Fuckin’ _bold_ of you to think that you have enough sway over me to get _me_ to fuck off.” His hand was suddenly on Charlotte’s blade, his grip tight. “No, no, no, my little Watcher. You don’t get to say _shit_ to me on **_my fucking fort_**.”

Within an instant, the Watcher’s vision blurred from Benweth’s face, to the morning sky, to the darkness of closed eyes as she slammed into the ground. She could hear the clanging of steel (either of something dropping or being picked up, only the gods know), and there was a sudden pressure upon her chest—Benweth’s boot gently crushing against her ribs. His eyes were a frightful, intense blaze of anger as they stared down on the Watcher like captured prey.

“You really think you can get rid of _me_?!” He gave one stamp of his boot at Charlotte, the intense pressure and pain slamming into her chest like a brick. Her hands grabbed at his leg, digging her fingers into his pants in a desperate attempt to get him off her. Benwenth looked down at her with pity and amusement. “Oh, look at how the mighty have fallen!”

He used his free leg to clip her right in her sides repeatedly—and watched with intense delight at the Watcher sucking in her breath and groaning in pain. Charlotte could feel the pain washing over her body, her thoughts clouded with begs for release from the agony she was experiencing, the helplessness that she felt as she laid there and took the hits into her sides repeatedly.

After what seemed like an eternity of pain the hits subsided and Benweth moved away from her. The Watcher recoiled in pain and rolled over, wincing and holding herself as she whispered a spell to alleviate her of the pain. Her whole body felt sore and bruised, and even breathing seemed to just flush her entire being with pain—a flicker of doubt flashed through her brain as she realized that this was possibly another stupid fucking idea that she had and that _maybe_ she should have brought a friend or two. But the part of her that was horribly stubborn as she was kind knew that she couldn’t ask her friends to venture into yet another battle after their excursion in the White Void—especially when this entire vendetta was a most personal matter; it only made sense to her that she should face this on her own.

Even if she did miss knowing that her friends would be here with her and keeping her alive. She started to realize she had a bad habit of self-sacrifice at the worst moments.

A warm sensation enveloped her as the healing spell rushed through her body, and she could finally feel herself starting to feel like a pale elf again. Her muscles still felt tense and sore, but at the very least the vast amount of pain she was in was subsiding. She rolled onto her back and was greeted with the sheen of metal directly in her face as it skidded right across her face—the realization hit her like a brick in that moment and she somehow managed to roll the other way, the rapier barely missing her eye; _her_ rapier actually. The Watcher used the momentum of the roll to jolt back up to her feet, staggering herself as she tried to adjust to being on her own two feet again. Benweth let out another laugh as he gripped both their rapiers in his hand. This man fought like a dirty piece of shit, and Charlotte was getting tired of this—she figured he might have at least one shred of dignity in him, but apparently, she gave him way too much credit.

She began chanting another spell as Benweth charged at her with deadly intent. He swung the rapiers at her with great force, and she did her best to dodge both blows as she focused on her cast. Of course, this was only made extremely more difficult by this man’s incessant screams as he focused all his energy into knocking Charlotte down and into the ground—but by some miracle she was able to finish her cast as he came towards her, and a brilliant flamed sword manifested in her hands. She blocked the blows and caught the rapiers with her blade, the flames bright and powerful that caused Benweth’s skin to glisten with sweat as his face drew close to hers.

“Oh, _come the fuck **on**_!” he yelled, face now also red with anger. Their weapons clanged once more, neither one willing to relent to the other. Charlotte bore her eyes into his, renewed vigor in her blood.

“I won’t give up that easily, _Benweth_!” her voice was determined and angry, filled with determination to get revenge for the damage he caused when they first met. Anger swelled in her stomach as she stood there neck and neck against him, her grip tight on her blade. It was one thing to come after her, but to put her friends, her daughter, her crew in danger? No, no, she was going to get payback for what he did, for taking advantage of them in unknown waters, at their weakest and their most vulnerable. She was going to wipe his _entire existence_ from this face of Eora, and she was going to **love every fucking second of it**. “I’m going to get rid of you—even if it’s the last _fucking_ thing I do!”

And of course, he laughed at her response. His laugh was grating, annoying, and so many other nasty words that filled the Watcher’s head right now.

“Now _this_ is what I wanted to see from you! Show me just how fuckin’ **_mad_ **you are Watcher! Give me your fuckin’ best shot!” A free hand came to pat himself on his chest, right over his heart—and the Watcher was more than happy to take the shot.  
  


* * *

  
It was about 5 hours before the promise meeting time, and Serafen was making the trip to meet up with the Watcher at Fort Deadlight. He wore a cloak to try and disguise himself, suddenly very aware of his surroundings and of the fact that his companions suspect him for knowing where the Watcher is. He didn’t think any of them would try to follow him, but one could never be so sure—better safe than sorry at the very least. He walked towards the helm of the small boat and took a good look at the sea in front of him through his spyglass. The waters looked calm again, and the skies looked about as clear as they were ever going to be. Serafen slowly steered the boat away from the docks, and slowly pushed the boat towards the fort.

He had no way of knowing if the Watcher was alight, and while everything in his body told him that she was most certainly fine, he couldn’t help but feel worried about her. Fort Deadlight may be filled with a bunch of good for nothing pirates who spend their whole day drinking and doing fuck all, there was still some danger involved in arriving at an unknown location without any guidance or help. A big sigh left his mouth as he tried to shake the thoughts away and focused on sailing the ship.

After about two hours out at sea Serafen decided to take a little break, releasing the anchor form the ship and moving downstairs to have a quick snack before he continued. He estimated that at his current pace, he should make it to Charlotte with about an hour to spare in case she either finished early or if he needed to go in there and drag her out himself (hopefully not). As he opened the door to below the docks, he noticed a handful of barrels off in the corner of the ship. He didn’t recall those being here when he took the boat this morning, but it was possible that someone else rented the boat between then and now and left something on accident.

“Well, might as well take a peek at their insides…” He strolled over to the barrel and popped the lid open, and was met with a familiar green hooded individual. Dark brown eyes stared back at him with wild surprise—the exact same face he was sure he was making.

“Oh, uh! Hi Serafen! Fancy meetin’ you here!” Xoti’s big smile betrayed the fear in her voice. From either side of her came the sound of lids popping off, the disgruntled sigh of Maia coming from one of them. He looked to this left and noticed the familiar blue sight of Tekēhu, giving a small wave to his companion. It seemed as though the jig was up. Serafen gave a defeated sigh, looking to Maia who was undoubtedly the mastermind behind all this.

“So, welcome aboard the ship, Maia.”

“Wanna explain what the hell is going on, Serafen?” Her arms were crossed, and she looked rightfully pissed. Ishiza’s head popped out from the barrel and slowly flew out, stretching his feathers from being stuck there for who knows how long. The orlan sighed, knowing that he has nowhere to hide now—it was probably time to finally come clean and get this over with.

“Well, I’m getting’ ready to pick up the cap from Fort Deadlight.”

Today was certainly the day for pauses, as once again the room was silent as everyone took in what Serafen had just told them. Maia in particular looked like she was going to pop a blood vessel in her head.

“You’re about to do **_what_**?!” She exclaimed; her hands tight on the rim of the barrel that the tension could snap the wood clean in half.

“The cap had a request of me: to take her to Fort Deadlight so that she can deal with Benweth, on her own, _without any help_. I gave her a time for the pickup, and now I’m goin’ over there to make sure that there is some kind of body to go pick up—hopefully one not riddled with fuckin’ holes.”

“And you just…let her go?” Xoti decided to intervene on the conversation, her eyes full of worry.

“Oh believe me, I gave her some fuckin’ words about how stupid I thought her plans were, but she was determined to do this on her own. She was really on about not wantin’ us to see her if she went bloodthirsty with revenge and all that.” Serafen sighed—he really should have tried harder to stop her so that he wouldn’t have to deal with this mess.

It was obvious from the return of the silence that no one could believe what he was saying, finding it hard to believe that the Watcher would just up and do something on her own—not that she wasn’t capable, but rather that she really didn’t need to, regardless of her reasoning. Maia gave a heavy sigh as she slowly exited from the barrel and looked at Serafen.

“How long until the meetup?”

“About two-ish hours.”

“Ekera, I will move the boat with much haste—as Ngati’s chosen, I can assure you the waves will part for us.” Tekēhu puffed out his chest in pride as he spoke.

“Any plans on busting in there and rescuing the Captain the ol’ fashioned way?” Xoti said.

“Hell no. Last thing I want is some fuckin’ random Principi captains comin’ after us with a vengeance. I just be hoping the cap isn’t…too worse for wear. She gave me her word on that.” There was a flicker of doubt in the back of Serafen’s mind that flared a wave of worry in him. Maia seemed to flash that same face of worry as she slowly made her way up to the docks.

“Well, let’s hope the Captain makes good on her words.”  
  


* * *

  
She wondered how it came to this. Wondered why she couldn’t settle this with words like she always did. Every swallow tasted of blood; an aftertaste of metal in the back of her throat with ever movement—breathing, opening her mouth, letting out a yell. All she felt was blood. Her gloves were caked in blood. Part of it came from the stab wound Benweth so lovingly gave her in her shoulder, some from the fucker himself when she decked him so hard in the nose that blood splattered all over the floor. The Watcher’s once well taken cared of frock was now splattered with blood on its white surface—ruined, completely utterly ruined.

Is this what it feels like to fight for revenge? To want to obliterate your opponent so badly that it starts to feel like nothing? She only noticed the blood since she had a moment to breathe, to not worry that he would sucker punch her again and attempt to choke her out (which he did, the fucking scumbag), or try to stab her into oblivion. No, not anymore would he try those tricks on her. At moment Benweth was nothing more than the man on the ground with both his leg’s wrapped in violent vines that could crush his bones if Charlotte so desired. She considered it of course—the thrill of watching him slowly feel the waves of pain as his bones fractured and shattered slowly in his flesh vessel, and how powerless he would be to stop her. Kind of like how powerless her crew was when he attacked them the night they arrived in the Deadfire.

And it always came back to that—came back to the feelings and the worried that they could have died, that by some miracle of the gods Edér and Vela survived, and that only five members survived otherwise. She never wanted to experience the horror of worrying about her friends, about worrying if one day she would falter and they would succumb to the mercy of the seas, about watching those she loved die with her powerless to stop it. Her heart swelled with agony at the thoughts. It swelled as she looked down at Benweth, his chest barely rising and her boot firmly on top of him. It was over as far as she was concerned. She gave him a chance, gave him the opportunity to leave but he didn’t take it. He wanted to live up to the name “Brutal Ben” and tried to break her—but she still stood. A solitary vigil to the determination she held in her heart.

Charlotte felt determination in her heart, and something else. Something she never felt before. Not the soft chime of Berath’s bell, but something else. An emotion that stirred in her—it felt hot like rage, and cold as anger. Something, something, something she could not place.

“So…how’s it feel?” Benweth sputtered words out at her, breaking her thoughts. Her cyan eyes looked down at him. “How…how does it feel? How does it…feel…to take a fuckin’ life for fun?” He smirked through busted, bloody lips.

“This isn’t for fun.” Her answers were succinct and to the point. He tried to laugh, only to flare up a nasty, wet cough from his lungs. No doubt filled with blood.

“Doooooon’t…give me that…” His eyes were still filled with fiery, dogged determination. “I can tell—you feel, you feel somethin’ don’t you?”

She wanted so badly to make him stop talking.

“I can…can tell from the fucking rage in your eyes…haha, you’ve enjoyed this. You—you fuckin’ loved giving me j-just what…what I deserved.” He let out another wet cough.

“I didn’t enjoy this one second—I gave you the chance to talk, and you refused. Now look at what’s happened to us.”

He laughed again. That same, annoying, utterly repulsive laugh that was only worsened from his strained breath. Charlotte pressed her rapier against his neck again, in a warning this time.

“Isn’t…isn’t it great to kill? To just beat the ffffucking shit out of whoever made…whoever made you _mad_? Doesn’t revenge feel great?”

Revenge. That’s what stirred in her chest—the feeling of overwhelming an opponent she was seeking revenge upon. To have him breaking underneath her; her anger, her rage—all of it was directed at him and she beat him with it. And it felt _good_. She couldn’t believe how good it felt to be the one with the power, the one to decide the course of his life. Charlotte swallowed hard at the revelation. The aftertaste of blood was still there.

As was utter, utter **disgust**.

“But…you’re not gonna do it, are you…?” Why was he still talking to her? Why could he not just sit there and _die_? “You…you’re so…fuckin’ nice. You…you pathetic bitch.”

Stop. Stop talking.

“You’re just—hhhaa…you’re just gonna leave me here…all to my lonesome. Y-you coward…”

Charlotte closed her eyes and tightened the grip on her rapier. She felt the swell of anger rise from her chest to every fiber in her body—Why wouldn’t he just stop?

“Can’t even…f-finish me the fuck off…gods…just get it…get it over with…”

The tip of her rapier pressed against his skin slowly. Like a needle into thread, there was some resistance against the flesh as the steel punctured and moved its way inside. She thought she could feel him squirming, feeling him shake—but she wasn’t sure. Everything felt…muffled. Hazy cyan eyes stared down at the man whose life was painfully being drained from him as blurs of color moved in her vision. The Watcher gripped her blade tight and twisted it down to the right—and everything became red. Her blade was coated in red, as was the stone floor. A splatter of it erupted from Benweth’s neck, a river of blood flowing into the ground beside him. A look of absolute horror was stuck on his face, wide eyed and with a distraught frown on his face.

Without even thinking, Charlotte repeated the motion to the left. Except, this time she could hear the sickening, wet crack of rendered flesh and bones succumb to her blade; it felt like suddenly she was jolted awake for the first time in a while. She looked down at the scene underneath her—Benweth’s now decapitated body quiet underneath her. There was nothing but silence for the first time in a while, the sweet, sweet emptiness that was silence enveloping her. And it felt **_so good_**. The Watcher looked up into the sky and a crooked smile formed on her face.

“What the fuck have I done?” She uttered to the gods above, as if any of them would offer her any sort of answer in these trying fucking times. A gloved hand was pressed against her face, and the wet smear of blood coated them. The scene around her was one of a gory, nightmarish hell—one that could have been avoided (she was still sure of it).

But it was done. It was finally done—Benweth was done and gone, and she was so, so happy to be done with it. And yet there was a hollow feeling in this victory, inside her. She felt like something in her snapped, something inside her was changed. A swirling vortex of feelings that she didn’t have time to process; she had to meet Serafen (she just remembered), and thus, began to make her way slowly to the blindspot of the fort once more.

It took some time to get there, but by another miracle she had somehow managed to avoid detection and made it to the back of the fort, taking refuge on the only flat rock she could find that was reasonably away from the ocean. It seemed she made it early, as there wasn’t a boat in sight. She wondered if the turrets were manned, but she lacked the energy to look up towards the towers to see for sure. In fact, she lacked the energy to do anything. It had been the first time in a few hours that she managed to sit down, and her entire body _flared_ with pain. It hurt to breathe, to talk, to move a muscle…everything, really. Her head clouded with thoughts again. She tried to forget what she had just done, but her brain and heart were at odds with each other.

How could she do something so cruel—it was one thing to leave him there to die, but to behead him? That was horrible! What was she even thinking?

She wasn’t thinking, she was feeling! Feeling the thrill, feeling the power and excitement of finally being active and not passive like she always did. She only killed to defend herself, wasn’t she getting tired of that? Wasn’t she tired of letting others defend her, while she did nothing to defend others?

But is this really her? Is this the real Charlotte? Did she really want this? Or was she so caught up in the moment that she just lost sight of who she was, of what her values stood for in all the decades she was alive?

What happened?

What happened?

_What happened?_

Something cold washed over and overwhelmed her—it was salty, too. Was it the ocean, she wondered?  
  


* * *

  
“Fuck, fuck, **fuck** — _Tekēhu_!” Maia screamed against the crashing of the waves, her grip around Charlotte’s waist as tight as her arms could hold her. They had made it to Fort Deadlight just as soon as their Watcher’s body suddenly dropped into the sea, with Maia instinctively diving into the waters after her. A billow of red stained the water as she reached for her captain, and an immense feeling of fear rose in her chest; Maia desperately tried to push it down, trying her best to stay afloat as her companion began to shape the waters around her. A vortex of water swirled round the pair as they were gently lifted up from the ocean and into the boat, Tekēhu chanting fervently as he commanded the waters to his will. The aumaua gently placed her captain’s body on the deck and nodded towards Serafen who quickly turned the boat around and back towards Port Maje. Tekēhu used his hands to part the vortex into two large waves, using the momentum of their pushes to speed the boat back to port.

Xoti took a worried glance at Charlotte, the blood mostly washed off her body leaving pink stains all over her. Her eyes glazed over with tears as she placed her fingers on the Watcher’s neck, searching for a pulse. Maia began removing the frock, trying to find any cuts that went in too deep.

“Talk to me, Xoti.” Maia’s eyes scanned Charlotte’s body—there were a few big cuts: most notably in her left shoulder, and a straight gash on her side. She was littered with bruises too. “What I would not give to shoot that fucker for what he’s done to her…” This didn’t look like a fair fight, and she hoped the Watcher gave that man equal, it not worse dosage of Hel.

“She’s…she’s still alive but…” The priest’s hands were gentle on the Watcher’s skin, as if afraid that the slightest touch could cause her more pain. Her neck saw no cuts, but a few nasty bruises—she was choked out at some point. “Maia…the Watcher went through some kinda Hel—this wasn’t a fight at all.”

“Aye, that’s Brutal fuckin’ Ben for you.” Serafen’s eyes were starting straight ahead to the sea and spoke through gritted teeth. “I bet you my furry fuckin’ ass that he didn’t put up a fair fight at all! Bet he saw the cap all alone and thought it would be easy pickin’! That motherfucker deserved whatever the cap did to him.” He gripped the wheel of the ship so hard that if he wanted to, he could tear it off the ship. Xoti pressed her hands against the Watcher’s body and began chanting a healing spell, hoping she was strong enough to alleviate her of some pain.

Maia pressed a hand on Xoti’s shoulder and gave a reaffirming squeeze. The priest stared at her companion, unable to hold back the tears anymore.

“She’ll be okay, firefly.”

This was an all too familiar sight for Edér, and he hated that he had to relive it again. All he could do was stare at Charlotte with worried eyes and a bit of whiteleaf to calm his nerves. He really, really didn’t want to ever experience this again. There was a knock at the door, and he stood up to open it, welcoming Aloth and Pallegina into the room. They had brought over a pot of khapa tea and some cups too. The trio sat in Charlotte’s room in the ship, watching her body slowly rise and fall (and taking small internal sighs of relief with each moment).

“Do we know why she did it?” Edér’s voice was low. He looked ragged and tired too—despite being on watch for about an hour, it felt like this whole afternoon aged him a few years. Pallegina responded to his question.

“Ac. Serafen says that the Watcher did not want to drag us long to her fight against Benweth.” She could hear an audible noise of disagreement from Edér. “…Apparently this was…a vengietta, and she did not want us to be there if she lost her cool.” Pallegina attempted a shrug, but it ultimately came out as a sigh. Her golden eyes looked over to Edér, who was clearly struck with disbelief at what she said.

“What? She did all this cause she—what the fuck?” He groaned and propped his elbows on his knees, promptly stuffing his face into his hands. “By the fucking gods…”

“I could not believe it either, Edér.” Pallegina took a sip of her tea. “I know the Watcher can be a bit…selfless, but this was taking it to a new level.

Edér scoffed.

“Guess she forgot that I already did my time watching her dead body for two weeks, wondering if she was ever going to come back to us or not!” He straightened himself back into his chair, but his entire body was a shaky, fidgety mess. Edér didn’t know where to put his hands, or what to do with his legs—so he just sat there and vibrated in place. “Why am I risking my neck for her if she’s just going to pull this shit on me _again_?”

“In all fairness, maybe she didn’t think this would happen?” Aloth finally spoke—having spent every moment he was there staring at Charlotte with relief and worry. “Knowing her she was probably hoping to resolve this with words but…it turned to bloodshed.” Edér puffed his chest out, suddenly embarrassed by his small outburst.

“Yeah. Yeah. You’re probably right…I just…” His eyes drifted to Charlotte’s body. “I just don’t wanna lose her again.”

Neither of them did.

They spent the next few hours chit chatting and relaxing as they kept watch over Charlotte—it was a much needed reprieve from the chaos that occurred in just a day, and they were happy with the distraction. Pallegina was the first to hit the hay, taking the pots and cups away with her. After a few minutes Edér stood up and stretched as well, letting out a big yawn.

“You gonna be here much longer, Aloth?”

“Ah, no, I’ll probably be out right after you.” He had brought a book with him to Charlotte’s room and began reading it when Edér and Pallegina became engrossed in conversation about animancers. He didn’t mean to be rude, but he certainly wouldn’t have anything nice to say. Edér gave him a gentle clap on the back, along with a smile. He walked out shortly after, wishing him goodnight and slowly closing the door.

Aloth stared at Charlotte, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest as she continued to show signs of being alive. Her breathing was starting to become more consistent, and he took that as an indicator that she will be alive and well in no time—and that knowledge brought a lot of relief to his mind. He gently placed the book on the table next to him and walked over to the Watcher. Despite the bandages that covered her body, most certainly a sign of just how much she suffered from Benweth’s hands, her face was that of complete serenity. He reached out a hand slowly to her, almost terrified of touching her out of worry that she’ll recoil in pain.

He opted instead to adjust the covers, pulling them up closer to her neck to keep her warm. Aloth could hear Iselmyr making obnoxious kissing sounds in his head, cackling as he did his small action of kindness. The elf turned around to retrieve his book and exit out when he heard a stirring from behind him. At first he thought it was Charlotte just shifting in her bed, and thought nothing of it—

“Aloth…?” A soft voice called out to him. He turned to face the direction of the voice.

Charlotte was sitting upright on the bed and wincing in pain, her head was turned to Aloth—who dropped the book from his hand with a sudden thud, catching the Watcher by surprise.

“H-hey…are you ok—” She was cut off by the sudden intense embrace from her companion, his arms wrapped tightly against her body. The Watcher was caught off guard by the movement, not expecting something so intimate from Aloth; the thought was instantly replaced by the warmth that washed over her body from his embrace, slowly bringing her arms to hold him close against her and burying her face in the space between his neck and shoulders. Charlotte was half awake right now, in a weird state of pain that was trying to knock her out and a yearning to stay awake to take in the feeling of having Aloth this close to her.

“You have no idea how angry we’re all are with you.” Despite the meaning of his words, his voice was soft and gentle, his hand holding the back of her head with delicateness. Charlotte let out a small laugh, before sucking in a breath of pain.

“Yeah—yeah, I am…surely going to be in some fresh trouble, I suspect.”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

After a few minutes of silence, they slowly let go of each other; Aloth’s palms settling on his lap as he sat on the edge of the Watcher’s bed. He was able to get a better look at her now that she was sitting up—her eyes looked cloudy and devoid of energy, something he never thought he’d see her lose. Surely this was from the rough day she had, and hopefully as she recovered, she’d be back to her usual cheerful self. Charlotte gave a smile, noticing that Aloth was staring—causing him to immediately face the other way as the tip of his ears went red, and his cheeks flushed with red too.

“Are you feeling alright?” He asked, intertwining his hands together. Charlotte nodded, but the wince in every movement betrayed her words.

“I could be better, admittedly. But I think I’ll be fine…just need to rest for a bit I think.” She stared at the bandages that were wrapped around her hands, brushing the tips of her fingers along the surface of the bandages on her neck. She certainly went through hell.

“Then, it’s probably best I let you get your rest—you certainly need it.” He stood up and this time, made the effort to reach for the book he brought in. “Hopefully the rest of the team agrees, but don’t be surprised if Xoti bursts in at the crack of dawn to check up on you.”

“Oh gods, I hope not. She means well but she is…loud.”

“And you don’t want to deal with loud, I take it?”

“Haha, maybe not when every inch of my body is in pain.” The Watcher laughed, smirking and staring back at Aloth. “Ah, anyway, I shouldn’t keep you here for long. Thank you for staying with me for this long.”

“It is no problem, Watcher.” He held the book close to his chest.

“I mean it. I said it back at the Harbinger’s Watch but…I appreciate your company.” A blush rose across her cheeks, as if she was recalling the night’s events—as was Aloth. She stood up and straightened her posture, running her hands through her hair.

“I appreciate your company as well. It…it’s nice to be back together with you. You’re a person of rare kindness.” His voice was soft and full of affection, suddenly feeling flustered and highly aware of how fidgety he was as he stood there standing at her. Charlotte tried to smother the extremely pleased smile that formed on her face—to absolutely no avail.

“You flatter me, Aloth. I…I’m also glad we reunited; you know?” It felt strange, readmitting their feelings of joy to be at each other’s sides again. But at least this time there wasn’t any alcohol in the Watcher’s body—everything she said somehow felt more…impactful, words more thought out and considered. Her eyes stared into his.

“I missed you.”

If his heart wasn’t already thumping against his chest, it certainly was now. Aloth stared at her, eyes wide; he was completely at a loss for how to respond, but he knew he had to at least blurt something out before the opportunity was gone.

“…I missed you too.” That was certainly a start, he thought.

His legs moved him closer to her again, the grip on the book slowly loosening until he decided to just place it by the bedstand. Aloth felt himself getting lost in the warm feeling that rose in his chest, that flared in his body and drove the thumping of his chest and the fire in his veins. He could see it in the Watcher’s eyes too—the feeling or shared warmth, of shared intimacy. A shaky hand came to cup her face, the Watcher’s own hand placed on it in response. Despite the bandages, it was warm—real, _alive_. Aloth was never a man to want, to desire. To give in to an inner selfishness like everyone else on the ship.

But he knew what he wanted more than anything; something he wanted so bad it was always in the back of his head whenever he looked at the Watcher—the flare in his chest whenever he looked at her told him as much.

“I love you, Aloth.”

Damn it, she said it first.

But, it was that—love. That is what he felt in the moment.

It thumped in his chest when she said it, thumped when her eyes looked into his—a warmth that reminded him of safety, acceptance (and of course), love. He couldn’t hide the smile, the joy he felt suddenly at the proper confession.

“I love you too, Charlotte.”

A satisfied laugh left Charlotte’s lips, her eyes glazing over with tears—not exactly the response that Aloth expected, but at least she had a huge grin on her face. With her free hand she wiped the tears that were falling off her face, smiling a big, toothy grin.

“I don’t think you have any idea just how long I’ve been waiting to hear that from you.”

The Watcher pressed their lips together; confident and full of love, almost and unlike the kiss they shared back at Harbinger’s Watch. Aloth matched the fervor, content and happy to finally release the burden from his shoulders, giving into the waves of pleasure and love that burned and radiated from their bodies pressed together like this.

He wished he could stay like this forever.

They parted for just a moment to catch their breaths, another satisfied smile forming on Aloth’s face as they took a moment apart. He cupped her face again, feeling the warmth of her cheeks against his skin as the Watcher looked up at him with loving, warm eyes.

“Then please—allow me to say it for you over, and over again.” He felt a rise of happiness in his chest that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. And he never wanted to let this moment go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter idea that came to me out of nowhere quite honestly. I had planned a Pallegina chapter to follow, but I wanted to explore Charlotte as a character a little bit and wanted to touch upon Benweth as well. I've mentioned it before somewhere, I've been using this fic as a way to explore character interactions that you don't quite see in the game, and I felt like the whole vendetta against Benweth was the perfect opportunity for that. What he did was kinda shit, and it only made sense for it to be on a really, really personal level for the Watcher (at least my own), so I wanted to see "what would happen if the Watcher just said fuck it and went off on her own?"; thus this chapter was born.
> 
> It's a long one again, with a bit more detailed action that I thought the last chapter was missing. Sorry if things got a little gory or gross, gonna have to put an archive warning on the fic I think (is that how this site works? I still haven't learned everything I can).
> 
> Also, finally decided to just let Charlotte and Aloth get on with their relationship!! I don't know how to write slow burn, terribly sorry if people expected the pinning to go on for much longer, lol. Maybe I'll toss it to Maia and Xoti? Ah, so much to do.
> 
> Anyway, thank you as always for your patience, and I hope you liked the chapter.
> 
> Merry Christmas to those who celebrate- I hope you all get the presents you want.
> 
> PS. Still hate writing summaries. Sorry if they are /so/ lame, I just cannot summarize for the life of me.


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